Once a masculine emblem of construction workers and hikers, Stanley drinkware is now a status symbol for the wellness-oriented internet trend-chaser. The ubiquitous 40-ounce Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumbler is at the heart of some of the 2020s’ most recognizable woman-dominated and pastel-toned trends, like the “hot girl walk” and TikTok’s controversial #WaterTok niche. The Stanley cup, as it is universally known, is toted by countless influencers and even some A-list celebrities who praise its supposedly superior functionality even as it draws mockery for its sometimes comical impracticality.
The movement against disposable containers is urgently needed, and reusable water bottles have been fashionable for decades. In the past, consumers signaled their love of hydration and the environment with water bottles from brands like Nalgene, Swell, Hydro Flask, and Yeti. But none of Stanley’s predecessors inspired a frenzy on a scale so large that it threatens to symbolize the very kind of environmentally-harmful consumption that reusable containers are supposed to end.
Despite its buy-it-for-life legacy, Stanley products are now commonly purchased as trendy collectors’ items. Some customers camp outside of retail stores for a chance to obtain limited-edition models, or take to TikTok to boast extensive and colorful Stanley collections, sometimes occupying a full kitchen shelf or their very own designated cabinet.
Stanley declined to comment on the company’s commitment to sustainability amid the current craze, but some sustainability experts worry about the potential environmental consequences. “I have this tension of being hopeful and excited and motivated by this pursuit of reusables, and also fearful,” says Jessica Heiges, a project director on zero waste and circularity at WSP, an environmental consulting firm. She worries that the Quencher could become the next cotton tote bag, a product meant to serve as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic that, due to its recent popularity and subsequent mass production, has become actively harmful to the environment.
Eco-Friendly or Eco-Foe?
Stanley’s website claims that its products “never need to be thrown away or replaced” and that its reusable water bottles are “built for life.” A viral TikTok posted in November, in which a woman’s Stanley tumbler is shown having outlasted a car explosion fully intact and full of ice, has bolstered that belief. And the Quencher’s hefty price tag suggests that one bottle should be enough to fulfill someone’s hydration-related needs for years, if not a lifetime. The 40-ounce Quenchers generally cost $45 to $50, and some editions resell for over six times their retail value—Stanley’s now infamous pink tumblers, cosigned by Starbucks, were briefly sold at Target for $49.95 and now have a resale value of about $300.
Are Stanley cup collectors reducing their impact on the planet? Heiges is skeptical. “There’s no possible way that they’re going to use the same one over and over again, and therefore reach that environmental breakeven point where it’s more beneficial than plastics,” she says.
There aren’t any published studies of how much reuse a Stanley cup needs to get before it’s more energy efficient than plastic water or soda bottles. But in 2009, The New York Times reported that, when compared to plastic, the production of stainless steel bottles requires seven times the amount of fossil fuel, emits 14 times more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and requires hundreds of times more metal resources. “Their environmental impact is so huge that just using it a handful of times is far more detrimental than using a handful of disposable water bottles,” says Heiges.
Stanley, according to its website, promises to make at least 50 percent of its stainless steel products and 100 percent of their packaging out of recycled materials by 2025. They also claim that their production process is at least somewhat energy-efficient. “I dislike overconsumption,” says Kyle Wiens, cofounder and CEO of iFixit, which sells repair kits and guides. “But if you’re going to [overconsume], this feels pretty good.”
“The catastrophically bad thing is disposable plastic bottles and other disposable packaging. So if this is supplanting that in any way, that’s a good thing,” says Wiens.
Heiges argues that, despite Stanley’s emphasis on waste reduction and recyclability, the company still operates within the framework of linear consumption by continuing to work toward the primary goal of selling more bottles. In a linear model, or a “make-use-dispose” model, products ultimately end up as waste.
There are alternatives. Heiges suggests a take-back-and-repair program as a possible solution to the overconsumption of the Quencher, as it would mitigate the need to purchase an entirely new product when a bottle breaks or goes out of style. Patagonia, for example, lets customers give back worn garments in exchange for store credit. Stanley’s lifetime warranty only applies to products that decline in thermal performance, and does not cover regular wear and tear.
More modularity could also be the key to the products’ overall longevity and ability to withstand the passing of trends, argued Heiges. “Is there any way that they can create their products so that it can be altered just slightly to adhere to that trendiness, to then bring in that slightly different adaptation so that it remains trendy and doesn’t require someone purchasing a whole new product for it?” she says.
Wiens has similar concerns about the cup’s trendiness. “Once it’s transformed into a fashion item with patterns and everything else, now you’re in a different world,” he says. “Is it possible that some of these designs are not timeless and so that no one’s going to want them in three years?”
The tension between the Quencher’s durability and current collectible status has not gone unnoticed. Some TikTokkers have posted #deinfluencing videos rebutting the viral videos of Stanley collectors, either by criticizing the product for its size or cost, or simply highlighting the irony in overconsuming a reusable container meant to reduce consumption. “Do people realize that when you buy a reusable water bottle. the whole point is that you don’t have to buy more water bottles?” @julipolise asked her followers on TikTok.
Rebrand, Reuse, Recycle
The Stanley Quencher surge began under the leadership of Terence Reilly, who previously masterminded the resurgence of Crocs. When he became Stanley’s president in 2020, over a century after the company’s founding, Reilly discovered that the Quencher was popular with the women behind an influential blog called The Buy Guide, CNBC reports. Working with the Utah-based bloggers inspired Reilly to capitalize on the power of social media affiliate marketing, and he quickly turned the Quencher into Stanley’s most popular product.
The company started producing Quenchers in colors designed to appeal to predominantly female audiences on TikTok and Instagram, and collaborated with brands and public figures popular among fans of the Quencher.
That strategy tapped into deep currents in consumer culture that can drive huge sales—but also overconsumption. “We see all the time that [a customer] wants her Quencher to match her fit, her nail polish, her car, her mood, her kitchen,” Reilly told CNBC in December. “We’re serving her where she wants the product.”
Stanley has appeared to encourage the idea that you need more than one oversize, bomb-proof, buy-it-for-life beverage container in your life. In August, the company’s TikTok account posted a video of “must-haves for the school year,” assigning four of its products each a unique and hyperspecific purpose.
The Varsity IceFlow was recommended for “trips to campus,” while the Quencher was said to be for “library sessions,” which is somehow different from the Classic Bottle, which can provide “all day study fuel.” Then on Saturdays and Sundays, of course, you’ll need a Trigger Action Travel Mug for “weekend iced coffees.” In May, the Stanley TikTok account even reposted a video made by a customer with a collection of approximately 60 Stanley products. “SO. MANY,” the caption reads.
Whether Stanley likes it or not, plastic consumption has become a means of showcasing one’s Stanley spirit. The tumblers themselves have become canvases through which one can project a personality or the mood of the day or moment. After selecting which color Quencher to carry, Stanley fans can then decorate the cup with compatible accessories, none of which are produced by Stanley and many of which are made of and wrapped in plastic and other disposable materials. Your Stanley can wear a rufflike snack tray so you can eat on the go. Your Stanley can wear its own backpack, or an IKEA tote, depending on its preference. Your Stanley can even wear jewelry. You can buy your Stanley its very own mini-Stanley, so it doesn’t get lonely.
Ultimately, the Stanley cup’s true legacy will take shape once another water bottle brand inevitably usurps it. (Some argue that Owala’s FreeSip (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is already on its way to replace the Quencher as the vessel of the moment).
The fate of Hydro Flask serves as a reminder that once an item becomes on-trend, it can quickly become painfully off-trend. The brand’s iconic Wide Mouth water bottle with the Flex Straw cap was inextricably embedded in the VSCO girl phenomenon, associated with an outdated aesthetic of the late 2010s.
On TikTok, many playfully mock their Hydro Flask–carrying past selves, while some push back on Stanley’s rise by promoting their loyalty to the no-longer-in bottle. Although Hydro Flasks generally didn’t inspire cabinet-sized collections, consumers’ urge to personalize their bottles catalyzed the industry production of plastic stickers that often depicted hypercurrent (and therefore inevitably soon-to-be-outdated) internet memes. Hydro Flask now markets a line of 40-ounce cups that look just like Stanleys.
Whatever Quencher’s 40-ounce future holds, what it has achieved deserves recognition. “Sustainability efforts to try to move us beyond disposables have suffered from a lack of cool factor,” says Wiens of iFixit. “If what it takes is to have a mass movement around this, and the side effect is that you get some crazy people that have 40 of them, I guess I would say I’m okay with it, because we are mainstreaming the right behavior.”
Now that Stanley has helped show that relatively ecofriendly products can become wildly popular, the next milestone in nondisposable drinkware should be to prove that a mass consumer trend doesn’t inevitably lead to waste and excessive consumption. If Stanley truly aims for a less disposable world, it must balance generating excitement for its robust cups with taking responsibility for their full lifetime. Otherwise, the Quenchers that throng TikTok today may become nothing more than a pastel-hued strata in the world’s landfills.
