Bring Your Mug To Starbucks: Free Coffee!

Nope, it’s not because we Americans need some caffeine to get our taxes done and in the mail before midnight tonight!

To encourage Starbucks customers to use their own mugs to help reduce environmental impacts during Earth Month and every month,

Customers Who Bring a Reusable Tumbler into Starbucks Stores on Thursday April 15 Receive a Complimentary Brewed Coffee!

Since 1985, Starbucks has offered a small discount if you bring your own cup. They’ll even rinse it out for you and be nice about it; I know because I’ve done it plenty of times.

But the company recognizes the HUGE problem its cups create and wants more people to bring their own, even though it cuts down on all those advertising moments when you and I see our friends and neighbors toting that familiar logo around.

Ben Packard, Starbucks vice president of Global Responsibility, says “We’ve set aggressive goals to minimize cup waste through recycling and reusable options, and are collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders to drive meaningful change. In addition to working with cup manufacturers, municipalities and recyclers to make our cups more broadly recyclable, we’re encouraging customers to think about reusable cups the way they think about reusable grocery bags.”

Julie Blackwell, Director of Conservation International’s Team Earth, points out that

“People can make positive choices without making sacrifices – they can still enjoy their coffee ritual, but by using a reusable cup, they reduce energy, water and CO2 from the cup production process as well as keep waste out of landfills.”

For more about Starbuck’s movement to cut down on wasteful disposable cups, visit www.starbucks.com/thebigpicture

Read the press release about Thursday’s free coffee here.