Water bottle dopamine

What on Earth is going on with reusable water bottles and why does everyone care so much? 

Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed the recent spike in people’s interest in reusable water bottles, especially with a brand called Stanley. All over TikTok and Instagram, people of  ages ranging from 8-years-old to 50, are going absolutely crazy over Stanleys. People are camping outside of stores to get new releases of the cup, stampeding Target, buying multiple bottles and then posting about it. You can’t watch TikTok or Instagram Reels without stumbling on someone using their new cup. It isn’t just Stanleys either, with people buying a new brand called Owala. Meanwhile others argue that their Hydroflasks and Yetis, cups that were once also extremely popular, are better than any of these new bottles. While the whole situation seems materialistic and superficial, could the overconsumption of these bottles be doing more harm than good? Is there a need to be poking fun at those who have them?

Reusable water bottles have been around for years, but recently, as people have become more aware of their carbon footprint and the plastic waste America alone creates—U.S. households generated an estimated 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021, of which only 2.4 million tons were recycled—reusable water bottles have become more common. In 2019, Hydroflasks became insanely popular, especially with younger generations, and was spread through social media. Many took to making fun of the mostly young girls who owned them, creating the term “VSCO girls,” as many liked the HydroFlask for more aesthetic reasons. Now we have a repeating trend with the Stanleys, with mostly women buying them, and now, just like the Hydroflasks, they are being made fun of. I find it interesting and somewhat odd that these jokes are aimed at women who just want a cup to use. It sometimes feels as though teens are ridiculed for liking or doing anything. We see it in all kinds of trends.

To some extent, I find it useless and tiresome to hear these repeating jokes poking fun at girls for just liking something. And in some ways, the whole feud over Stanleys just feels like a target towards women, scrutinizing them for simply liking a cup. But that has a fine line. While I’m not for making fun of girls who just like a cute cup, which might I add is making them drink more water than they were before, as several articles have found, buying multiple of the same exact cup is contrary to its purpose. By buying a reusable water bottle, you are reducing the amount of plastic being wasted, but when you are buying many of the same water bottle in different colors, you are in some ways creating more waste. It’s overconsumption at its finest. The Stanley company knows this too, and they seem to target these women and girls with their cups to lure them into buying more, especially with their new color drops, which can be appealing and enticing. This, of course, just gives Stanley even more money than they already have gained. Keep in mind, the production of new water bottles uses many natural resources and generates lots of carbon emissions, not to mention when this trend possibly dies and we’re left with Stanleys filling up landfills. You don’t need seven different reusable water bottles. With that being said, there have actually been some people on TikTok, one named “Lead Safe Mama,” that show that Stanley cups have traces of lead in them, according to their at-home tests. While these tests may not be 100 percent accurate, it is definitely something to be wary of as well, besides the overconsumption of the cups. 

At the end of the day though, reusable water bottles are better for the environment and help remind you to drink water throughout the day. But it shouldn’t matter what kind of bottle you have, and whether it’s “trendy” or not, because they all do the same thing. If a cute bottle makes you happy, get the cute bottle, but let’s not make fun of others for following or not following a trend. Trends repeat themselves, and I’m sure in a few years (or months) there will be a new water bottle on the market, urging you that their bottle is the best one yet and you have to have it. Resist the temptation to overconsume! Get the water bottle you want, but don’t get a thousand of the same kind, and remember their purpose is to help the environment and reduce the waste of plastic.