With the holidays just around the corner, most franchises know that the best way to rack up money is going to be with anything holiday themed.  One of the most popular places to do this?  Starbucks.  The Starbucks “red” cups and seasonal drinks are among their most popular. This year, the Starbucks seasonal beverages list has 20 new drinks on it, all served in their trademark red cups.

Year after year, people line up to try a sip of Starbucks holiday drinks, full of peppermint, gingerbread, and toffee.  These flavors serve to remind everyone that it is Christmas, and this annual event, which takes place every year, racks up more and more money for the place.  

However, even though Starbuck’s priority may be to increase income and spread Christmas cheer, many believe that their main priority this holiday season should be to decrease their negative toll on the environment.  Starbucks red cups always rack up a huge amount of controversy, such as last year, when Starbucks came out with plain red cups – no design.  Many of their customers felt cheated.

This year, however, the controversy extends to something far greater than the designs on the cups.  The company has a corporate responsibility to include sustainability in its future.  And since the red cups sell like crazy, it is safe to say that the amount of waste that Starbucks generates peaks around the holiday season.

The plastic lining of the red cups are disposable but non-recyclable.  The worst thing about this situation is that Starbucks has an opportunity and a clear option to use 100 percent recyclable materials for their cups. However, they choose to turn a blind eye to the insane amount of damage they are causing to the environment.

This year, although Starbucks has satisfied their customers with their pretty holiday themed and festive designs, there is nothing festive about generating huge amounts of non-recyclable waste that kill our environment.  Holiday traditions seem to give Starbucks an excuse to generate these gigantic amounts of waste, hiding under the cover of simply trying to seem festive and joyful.  

This does not mean, however, that Starbucks is completely at fault.  In an effort to reduce their waste, they also agree to serve customers who bring their own cup, and to offer a discount to those customers as well.  Starbucks holiday mugs themselves are huge hits among the company as well, although not nearly as much as the red cups are. Show some holiday spirit this year, and take your own mug please.

Darin Sumetanon