Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Yeti who? Hydroflask what? Get ready for Stanley Cups! 

I’m sick of hearing of them and you may or not be sick of the TikTok-fueled trend as well. From hauls, insanely effective marketing, and social media buzz, it’s nearly impossible to not know about this drinkware brand. Who knew the masses could be so fixated on a stainless steel cup, especially on such a concerning level? 

This drinkware brand has become such a status symbol in the mainstream … but for what? Why? Personally, like most trends, I don’t get it. I’m not the contrarian I used to be in high school so I am more than willing to yield to popular things, but still, I don’t get it. There’s something about a mug with a protruding straw that can get easily dirty (and yes, even when it has a straw cover) that gives me the ick. 

Maybe I just need time because I’m painfully slow with most trends. Maybe I need to just yield to the drinkware majesty of Sir Stanley to understand it.

… Or maybe I won’t because spending $35 to $50 on a mug like that is a little ridiculous. If you buy one, okay, sure, maybe it’s worth it and I won’t judge you for leaning into the trend. But, oh, how I wished we were a society that wasn’t so fixated on quantity and materialism, because whatever happened to moderation?

People are flocking, no, stampeding to Target for the Valentine’s Day cups, fighting like Black Friday moms. Influencers are having insanely expensive hauls. Seeing someone spending $3000 on Stanleys genuinely makes my head hurt (and how can someone spend so much in this economy)? 

Now, I’m treading lightly because I know collectors exist and some of you reading may think, “Well, what’s wrong with collecting things?” There isn’t anything wrong with having collections. I know friends who are into collecting Funko Pops, pins, trading cards, figurines, and much more. Heck, I am a proud earring collector. But, here’s the thing: people mass-collecting Stanley cups aren’t going to have any use for something that is meant to be, well, usable. Especially when they have a lot of it. 

Over-consumption has always been a problem in our society, so the Stanley Cup craze only reinforces vain materialism and a deeper problem of the cups being reusable and “eco-friendly.” Yes, they’re better than the plastic bottle crisis we’re still facing, but they still have problems. Manufacturing stainless steel bottles require much more production and cause up to ten times more pollution than even regular steel, so the “eco-friendly” claim goes right out the window.

This isn’t a huge deal compared to most crazes and this phenomenon – or social experiment as some are dubbing it – will die down within the next month. But, it does speak on mainstream consumerism and the value we put into brand names. 

As an insecure tween, I gravitated toward brand names that all the other girls had because I wanted to feel cool. Stupidly pricey UGGs and North Face hoodies were all the rage and darn it, I just wanted some popular kid points. I did not want to be caught dead having a dupe of a popular clothing/shoe brand because that was social suicide! Looking back, it’s ridiculous and now, I wear whatever I want and I learned to shop savvy and get brand names second-hand. 

That’s why it’s crazy to me to see kids get bullied for being “caught” with a faux Stanley cup. For goodness sake, this is a cup; a 9-year-old should not be poor-shamed for not having a cup with a winged bear on it. Whatever happened to teaching children not to judge others for not having something?

I will give Stanley some credit; these mugs seem pretty durable and useful. Lola Offenback, English major, ‘26, says, “I got my Stanley Cup because it was trending, but I happen to really like it. I drink more water with it and it’s convenient with its handle. But, I think the girls in Target fighting over the Valentine’s Day cups are ridiculous. It’s excessive.”

Stanley cup collectors, you keep gushing over your cups and I’ll just keep using my wonderful, lavender Hydrapeak mug that I got from the clearance section of Marshall’s. I vow not to lean into the cup crusade for now (or at least until it starts dying down and I’m not fighting for my life in a Target).