My morning ritual is not complete without a cup of Kopi C Kosong to wake my brain up. Despite being fully aware that single-use plastic waste is harmful to the environment, I am still guilty of getting my coffee in disposable cups with plastic lids and carriers to top it up.
Why is it so hard for me to bring my reusable tumbler to get coffee?
A quest to psychoanalyze myself makes me realize I am not the only one with this problem. Despite the fact that many of us are environmentally woke, “bring your own cup” has not got as much adoption as it should. Plenty of research done on the topic confirms what we intuitively know to be deterrents in establishing the habit of bringing your own cup.
We are environmentally “woke” until it inconveniences us
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 50 billion one-time paper cups are used a year, most of which are not recyclable due to a thin layer of plastic coating applied to the inside of the cup to prevent leaking. This means they most likely end up in a landfill.
Many of us know that single-use containers are bad for the environment, but have yet to feel the impact of the problem on our daily lives. In other words, the problem is not painful enough for us to act.
Therefore, if we have to go out of our way to use a reusable cup, we will be more likely to resist it.
Any perceived inconvenience such as not owning a reusable container, carrying it around, washing and drying it after use, etc is enough to make consumers opt for the easier option.
The missing reward in the habit-forming equation
Encouraging consumers to establish a new habit requires 3 elements: trigger, routine, and reward. When they would like to buy a cup of coffee for takeaway (trigger), the desired habit is to bring their own container along. What is missing in many cases is that the reward is not strong enough for the brain to favorably remember the routine.
There are 3 main motivations for people to bring their own cup: awareness of environmental issues, financial incentives, and social validation.
Awareness of environmental issues
Consumers who act out their desire to protect the environment have an intrinsic reward, which is the sense of fulfillment when their action helps reduce unnecessary waste. Because this is a problem of which a direct impact we do not feel on a daily basis, we will need a constant reminder.
Financial incentives
Those who bring their cups to enjoy a discount or avoid additional costs seek financial reward for their behavior. In different “bring your own” programs around the world, there is one interesting observation emerging. People might not find a $0.5 dollar discount incentivizing, but a $0.5 extra charge for a one-time container is enough a deterrent. This is the loss aversion mentality.
Social validation
Last but not least, those who bring their own cups because they see other people do so are motivated by the pressure to fit in. They seek social validation.
When I was working in Metro Manila, seeing how it was the norm for everyone around me to bring their own tumbler for beverages and pack their own lunchboxes, I was inclined to do the same. The existing culture made it much easier for an individual to adopt a new habit.
Challenges in promoting the right reward for consumers
My hypothesis is that most people require at least 2 motivations working together to prompt them to bring their own cups regularly.
The challenge is that it requires different stakeholders in the ecosystem (consumers, F&B businesses, and the government) to promote different types of motivations.
The promoter of environmental pollution awareness
Private businesses may be a promoter of “going green” campaigns as long as it helps with their branding. Beyond that, businesses’ primary function is to make a profit, and not to protect the environment. As a result, spreading awareness of environmental issues to the public such that people are intrinsically motivated to act is an activity likely to be championed by government agencies.
A well-known example of how governments remind consumers of the negative consequences of their buying behavior is health warnings on cigarette packaging. Those visual reminders of a destroyed lung surely make people think twice about buying cigarettes. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, in a survey conducted between 2001 and 2003, 44% of smokers in Canada revealed that visual health warnings had increased their motivation to quit. In Brazil, 67% of smokers surveyed said that warnings had prompted them to quit.
Imagine every disposable cup has an image like the sample cup in this article (source: Photo by Olena Motrych on dreamstime).
Leave your thoughts in the comment section on why you think regulations on environmental damage warnings on disposable packaging do not exist.
The promoter of financial incentives
So far, this has been the most straightforward option, and it is also the reason why it has been more widely practiced.
I mean if I get a 30% off by bringing my own cup, I will gladly bring mine, every single time. But realistically, who can offer that much discount?
The discounts for reusable cups need to be paid for by someone. The discounts would eat into businesses’ margin unless there is a government subsidy of some sort.
Charging additional fees for one-time-use containers and carriers is an alternative that works on consumers’ loss aversion mindset and avoids margin erosion for businesses at the same time. But this practice can hurt the less well-to-do segment of the public.
In February 2022, Vancouver mandated a single-use cup fee of 25 cents but had to roll the bylaw back for revision soon after, due to multiple complaints on how the bylaw affected vulnerable consumers and restaurant deliveries. Vancouver made changes to the bylaw in March 2022 such that free drinks (for example in donation programs) are not subjected to the surcharge.
But as we can see, when it comes to financial incentives, government intervention is still required to effect a large-scale change.
The promoter of social validation
Once there are enough people around you and me who do it, we have enough peer pressure to do the same. But that is a chicken and egg problem. If there isn’t enough adoption, to begin with, the network effect is not strong enough to pull in new adopters.
However, in this case, I can see a clear business interest to promote this network for businesses that sell sustainability products and services such as reusable cup sellers and rental services.
This is probably the space with the most creative problem-solving potential for private entities.
One notable name is stojo, a provider of reusable, collapsible, leak-proof containers which are hassle-free to carry around. And very importantly, they look nice. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of aesthetics in making users feel proud of carrying that product around in public. I think they have figured out the right value proposition to offer.
When it comes to rental service, Muuse (which to my pleasant surprise also operates in Singapore, in addition to Toronto, Hongkong) strikes me with a creative idea. Muuse partners with F&B chains to offer reusable containers in-store. Customers, while buying a beverage, can choose to rent a Muuse container on the spot by scanning a QR code. They have up to 30 days to return the container to any participating outlet) before a late return penalty is imposed. The outlets will take care of cleaning as well.
The idea is to remove as many barriers to using reusable containers as possible. Customers do not have to alter their existing behaviors to do this.
The biggest problem with this idea is how to monetize it. Muuse offers a paid tier called Muuse pro which offers food delivery in reusable containers, deals with partner merchants, and access to the cup counter feature, to measure impact.
I have doubts about its ability to monetize. But as someone who cares enough about the environmental impact of single-use containers, I am more than happy to try out their service.
My suggestion to businesses selling and renting reusable products is to focus on building a network of users. It could come in the form of bundle deals, gift vouchers, and referral discounts so that it is easier for a consumer to encourage another friend or family member to use the same product and service.
A feel-good feature such as cup counters should not be a paid feature. It should be something that is available for free so that users always feel good about themselves for saving the environment every time they use the service or product. Even better, there should be an ability to boast about these impacts to their network.
The Nike Run Club app is a good example of this tactic. With every step of the run, runners receive constant positive validation that they are doing a good job. They also can look back at their past achievements (how many kilometers were run, how many milestones were unlocked, etc) and share those on social media. The whole point is to make users feel good about themselves and keep returning to seek it out.
Final words
Changing consumers’ behavior to a more sustainable habit is not easy. There are many stakeholders at play with different incentives to promote different types of consumers’ motivations. However, I believe the landscape also offers a high opportunity for creative problem-solving.
And I am supportive of entrepreneurs who are working hard to take a crack at this problem to save us all from the calamity of our own actions.
Writing this piece alone strengthens my awareness of the environmental harm single-use containers bring. That is a powerful reminder for me to bring my own tumbler to work tomorrow.
What about you?
What do you think can motivate you to regularly bring your own containers to take away food and beverages?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section down below.
