Several months ago, my sister bought a Stanley Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumbler – 40 fl. oz. better known as “The Stanley Cup.” Since then, I have seen them everywhere. I see them at school (even more so now after the holidays), I see them in coffee shops, at the gym, and most prominently, I see them on social media. Per usual, the internet has a lot to say, and much of it isn’t very nice. Bashing girls for their mindless purchasing and consumerism, the ridiculousness of the cups shape and size, and comparing it to the boom in hydro flasks and other popular water bottles from the past, people have a lot to say on this recent trend. I do too, but not all of it is bad.
Did nearly every single girl now possessing a Stanley Cup want it because they saw someone else had it? Probably. I don’t think too many people were browsing the internet and happened to come across stanley1913.com and instantly fell in love with this particular cup. And while I do think this kind of trend-based consumerism can be unpleasant, and I’ll get to that later, I don’t think it’s as dumb of a trend as people make it out to be. My sister is an athlete, and she rarely drank enough to be considered reasonable for how much she exercises before buying the beloved cup, affectionately nicknamed “Stan.” Stan goes everywhere with her now, and since it’s nearly impossible to pack away since it won’t fit in the water bottle pocket of a backpack due to the mug-like handle, she is constantly reminded to hydrate. So is nearly every other girl who now possesses the cup. Some new designs of the tumbler are easier to pack, but the point still holds. I’d argue purchasing a water bottle you are excited about promotes you to drink more water, just as signing up for a popular workout class promotes you to exercise. If a Stanley Cup is exciting, even if it’s just because it’s trendy, then I don’t see that as a bad thing. Finding exciting ways to do things that are good for you should be seen as a good thing, and that opinion is pretty set.
However, with that said, do I think every girl who now has this cup is going to stay excited about it for more than the span of the trend? No. Is it absolutely insane that these cups are being resold for insane prices across the world? Yes. And that brings me to consumerism. Seen these days in a million shapes and forms with the coming and going of trends, it has quickly become a massive problem.
Keeping on the note of the Stanley Cup, a particular part comes to mind: the Starbucks x Stanley collaboration. Stanley Cups themselves are a trend, but this specific version is entirely its own dilemma. If you have somehow avoided hearing about this particular Stanley Cup, this article is a good place to start. As I’ve stated thus far, I’m not against Stanley Cups, however, physical confrontation over a social-media popularized item is concerning. I understand limited edition items to some extent. If my favorite store starts selling a limited edition item, I may be inclined to buy it. I’d argue though that this sort of obsession over the limited cup though is not due to actually wanting the cup, it’s wanting what comes with it, aka the basis of nearly every trend: fitting in. The regular Stanley Cup trend is something like “Buy this and you’ll fit in” but by making a limited edition version, it’s “If you don’t buy this right now you’ll never fit in.” It’s good marketing, clearly, but in my opinion chasing ever changing trends is not a good way to live.
So to summarize, here’s my final take: if you want a Stanley Cup because it’s going to improve the quality of your life, go buy it. If you want a Stanley Cup because you think fitting in will improve your quality of life, the problem isn’t in the items you don’t have, it’s you.