Our compostable-reusable coffee cups have just landed in a new Seattle shop! Not A Number, located just east of the University District on 45th Street in Wallingford (the ‘hood that could), recently began stocking their shelves with our coffee cups. The store is an amalgamation of environmental goodies, political schwag, and gifts and toys that’ll blow your mind. Think a sliver of Spencer’s Gifts, a dash of Politics R Us, and 100% Seattle soul.

Not A Number is run by Jon and Kara; who I first met at the Seattle Green Festival in 2008. These two have been a support to the Seattle community since first opening their doors five years ago. The store has hosted veterans’ events, local candidate forums, and book readings by progressive authors. Countless local artists and small businesses (like us!) have found a home for their passion on the shelves of Not A Number.

Stop by Not A Number for one of our very green and very sexy coffee cups. If you want a cup but cannot trek to Wallingford for your 16 ounces of eco-friendliness, order one online! Our webstore hosts several different coffee cups, and a collection of T-shirts. Find it here at: www.SustainabilityIsSexy.com

Coffee Cup Snap Shot

Worry no more about the effects of petroleum and plastic coming from standard cups. This reusable-compostable cup is made using 100% US grown corn. The lid is a flexible rubber, certified safe by the FDA.

The Basics:

• 17 ounces
• Microwave safe
• Best if hand washed
• Available in Seattle and online

Environmental Considerations:

Tags: coffee, cups, eco-friendly, gifts, not, Not a number gifts, number, presents, Seattle, stores, sustainability is sexy, wallingford

Sunsets? Shag carpet?  Shameless Self Promotion?

A few weeks ago, Canada’s Evolution 107.9 radio station featured Sustainability Is Sexy on a short feature called Our Planet Earth.   The station let us run with the script – our conversation jumped from the environment, to coffee cups, to what makes sustainability so sublimely sexy.  It’s a great clip.

 

 

 

 

 

Besides being entertaining, this radio show was personally inspiring.  Interviews like this one help revive the roots of our group, and remind us why our campaigns are so effective.  It’s easy to run a program to promote reusable coffee cups, but it’s much more difficult to host one that’s successful and achieves a real impact.  Simply put, boring campaigns with underwhelming messages and banal tactics just don’t work. 

Earlier this week, I spent some time trading emails with a student group who was interested in promoting reusable coffee cups on their campus, and they landed on the same thoughts I was having throughout the radio show:

“We don’t just want to use posters or invite speakers - IT IS BORING.  We want people to join us and have fun, we’d like to talk to people and help them understand their impact on the environment and their responsibility.”

Now I think posters and speakers can be great – but it has to be the right posters and the right speakers.  After all, plenty of bands still use posters and speakers to fill concert venues.  Encouraging coffee drinkers to practice eco-friendly habits can only be done with engaging, exciting ideas that exhibit raw energy – just like a good rock and roll band would do.   

 

 

Tags: 107.9, campaigns, Canada, college radio, demographics, earth day, eco, eco-friendly, engage, environment, environmental, Evolution, guerilla marketing, know your audience, our planet earth, poster, projects, reusable coffee cup, sustainability is sexy, young adults

“When I told my career counselor that I liked to travel, this is not what I had in mind”. Three hours into a business conference, and I was already tapping my heels to go home. I’d flown the red-eye the night before, had woken to a generic continental breakfast with generic coffee, and was now watching a generic powerpoint presentation. Living out of a suitcase is no picnic, as any business traveler will tell you.

To me, even more offending than the verbose speaker were the bad environmental habits on display. Disposable coffee cups, disposable water bottles, disposable lunches – throw-away conveniences flourish in the conference environment. I have a hunch that some of the discomfort felt by conference-goers tends to be caused bad environmental habits. It’s no secret that coffee is more enjoyable from a durable mug than from a paper one. Talk About Coffee published a thorough article a year ago, detailing how paper cups can negatively affect the taste of coffee. The basic gist is that pieces of the disposable cup disintegrate into the coffee and contaminate the flavor. Also, disposable cups don’t hold heat.

Even more recently, a psychology study from Sheffield University in the UK concluded that coffee (and tea) tastes better when enjoyed from a favorite cup.

My own theory on the correlation between bad eco-habits and poorly received business conferences is cultural. Most of us grow up learning the importance of hosting a party properly. We clean up the house before guests arrive, we serve cold drinks, and we break out the good china when important people drop by.

When a host ushers conference-goers to a coffee table with cheap throw-away cups, attendees are reminded that their comfort isn’t actually all that important.

There are exceptions. At a recent one day conference in California, my conference hosts took subtle measures to boost conference-goes mood. Immediately noticeable were the coffee cups. At this conference, ceramic coffee mugs had replaced the ubiquitous paper cups commonly used. The same was true for other foods and drinks. Pitchers and cups replaced plastic water bottles; a serving pitcher replaced individual coffee creamers; sugar came in a dish instead of in little packets.

Given my thoughts on reusable coffee cups, I felt like cart wheeling down the halls in excitement. But it wasn’t just the eco-obsessive who seemed to enjoy the change. Everyone in the room seemed to feel more comfortable and at ease. As an audience, we seemed more eager to participate in discussions, ask questions, and work in groups when asked. The conference hosts benefitted too. Every conference photo that was taken, tweeted, or posted to a blog showed conference attendees holding coffee cups branded with the host company’s logo.

Planning a conference? Why not treat your attendees well, and nix the disposable materials. You’ll do a small part for the environment, and your attendees will thank you.

Lead picture courtesy of jaako on Flickr Creative Commons.

Tags: bottles, business, ceramic, coffee, conferences, disposable, eco-friendly, forum, green, host, sexy, speakers, sustainability, sustainability is sexy, travel, water