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The Hidden Cost of the “On‑The‑Go” Coffee Cup

Every day, millions of us walk around clutching a coffee cup like it’s a badge of honour. ☕️ It’s not just caffeine, it’s confidence. The little ritual that makes us feel productive, stylish, in control. I get it. I love that feeling too. But lately, I’ve been thinking about how powerfully insidious this symbol has become, and how hard it makes it to switch this unhealthy habit.


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What’s Happening


In Bristol, a new scheme called Lendable (by Ecosurety & RE-UZ) has launched in July. A reusable coffee cup system that lets people borrow, return, and reuse cups citywide. A great step toward tackling one of the biggest everyday waste streams we’ve come to normalise.


But here’s the catch: if the takeaway cup makes us feel powerful, cool, and “on the move,” then how do we make the reusable one feel just the same?


What We See Is NOT All There Is


This is something we explored in our short film, “What You See Is NOT All There Is” : how the things we treat as harmless everyday habits (like takeaway coffee) hide whole worlds of extraction, pollution, and inequality behind them.


What we see is a latte. What’s underneath is a pervasive cycle we can (and must) break.


Why It Matters


The single-use cup isn’t just about convenience anymore ; today it’s about identity. As mentioned in this article, pop culture has told us for decades that the woman with the coffee cup is ambitious, unstoppable; she's busy chasing something big (the American Dream, you bet). Think:The Devil Wears Prada, Sex and the City, any influencer's power walk on TikTok…).


The leve of this pervasion is why, I believe, reuse systems like Lendable can’t only focus on logistics. They need to tap into emotions.They need to make carrying a reusable cup feel like THE new power move. A symbol of intention, not just motion.


What We Could Do


Let’s rebrand reuse as Culture, not Compromise. Let’s show that being "on the move" and mindful is the real flex (did I really just say that), and that the coolest walk in the city is the one that leaves nothing behind.


By making our walks with a reusable cup feel like the new power move, we start to chip away at this invisible addiction. Culture changes first, systems follow.


Some of our partners are doing some cute things out there, depending on where you are - you should check out:


And if nightlife can go plastic-free, maybe our coffee walks can, too?


🎬 Watch the short film: What You See Is NOT All There Is below



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