These Viral Dollar Tree Cups Are A Problem

Recently on social media we have been seeing a trend of whimsy. And if that overused term has not yet permeated onto your feed, please let me explain. The word has basically been taken up into the social media lingo Zeitgeist as an excuse for people to over-consume under the guise of being whimsical. 

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One of the primary things that we have been seeing as part of the “whimsy-maxxing” trend involves buying unnecessary single-use plastic goods all in the name of romanticizing mundane daily tasks. 

Whether it’s using chunky plastic jewels to bedazzle a face mask that you’re going to throw away in twenty minutes or romanticizing your morning beverage by putting it in a single-use, clear plastic cup that suits your aesthetic better, it’s excessively unnecessary and ultimately harmful. There’s a certain point where people engaging in these trends must look themselves in the mirror and ask if it’s actually bringing you any more joy in life beyond giving you something to post about, and if the cost is outweighed by looking good. 

Death To Excuses

It came to our attention recently that there has been a huge trend in the social media food space where people will go out and buy a specific sleeve of $1.50 clear plastic cups with lids designed for on the go sipping from Dollar Tree. Creators and ordinary people on TikTok and Instagram will make their typical coffee, matcha, or soda in these cups with a very aesthetically pleasing atmosphere of sounds and visuals. 

More than anything though, the plastic cup trend has been emphasizing to us that people are oh-so quick to forget about the trend that had so recently enraptured their attention. For every one of these sleeves of clear plastic cups being bought from Dollar Tree, there is a cabinet of reusable mugs and water bottles in an assortment of colors and patterns that the same consumer had once been so excited about.

But just because you want to be able to see your drink or throw it away when you’re done with it doesn’t mean that your impact ends there. That cup will go to a landfill, and your cabinet will still be full of reusable mugs. And when you buy your fourth sleeve of these cups because Instagram said that it was the cutest way to drink your coffee in the morning, know that it’ll eventually all cost the same as that last reusable cup that you swore you’d get use out of continues to sit there.

Plastic cups being used for drinks isn’t the issue here, though. It makes sense. They were designed for to-go coffee… from coffee shops. Starbucks can’t give you a reusable glass when you’re not even planning on sitting there to finish it. But even Starbucks will sell you a branded reusable coffee cup that you can use in place of the one that you’re inevitably going to have to throw out in an effort to reduce waste. When your coffee is coming from your home, there’s no point in using a throwaway cup to make your coffee when you can just wash one you already have and use it again the next day. 

As a buzz-term, whimsy has become an elaborate excuse to over-consume beyond one’s needs all for a photo, a like, and to feel included in something larger than oneself. But it’s not cute, and it’s not actually contributing positively to your community when the very thing you’re doing to engage with society requires the over consumption of single-use plastics. 

Real Whimsy May Take Practice

Up until this point, this article has admittedly been quite critical. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some positive aspects that we see in this trend. It’s simply that being whimsical generally does not require any purchase at all. 

If you do feel so inclined to engage in things that make the mundane tasks a little bit more beautiful and a little bit more celebratory (hey, we could all use more of that), then there are alternative ways to do so that feel equally celebratory — they might just not be on trend. It just may take more effort to romanticize the things you already have. 

We here at Sporked hope that everyone who wants to make their life a little bit more magical can do so. But we know that it doesn’t require some throwaway clear plastic cup for you to do so either.