Let's talk Water Bottle Culture.
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- Опубліковано 24 чер 2024
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🎥 More about this video:
You know it, I know it - Stanley Cups have taken over the world, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. In this deep dive, let's talk about water bottle culture and how it reflects the larger trends around hyperconsumption and excess. We chat through the rise of Stanley Cups, the history of water bottles and their transformation into accessories, and the way we use products to represent our identity.
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🔍 Resources mentioned:
Brief history of water bottles: www.justbottle.co/en-us/pages...
NYT on water bottles: www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/he...
Bottled water: www.independent.co.uk/life-st...
HBR 'elusive green consumer': hbr.org/2019/07/the-elusive-g...
Wired Stanley Cup article: www.wired.com/story/stanley-c...
NYC green water bottle: archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim...
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🎥 Check out some of my other videos! 🎥
- Influencers Don't Care If You Go Broke: • Influencers Don't Care...
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Time Stamps:
00:00 Let's talk the Stanley Cup
03:23 Water Bottles as a Symbol & Accessory
07:16 Symbolic Consumption
10:13 Water Bottles for Community
12:44 Viral Marketing
14:47 Let's talk the Environmental Impact
17:45 Excessive Water Bottles
Keywords for some sweet, sweet metadata:
Personal finance, money management, deinfluence, deinfluencing, budgeting, budget, credit card, culture, video essay, video analysis, social media, Stanley Cups, water bottle, materialism, investments, overconsumption, consumerism, climate change, shopping, spending money, cara nicole
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Thanks so much for watching! :)
i'm sorry but 3 minutes of ads in 20 minute video is kinda insane... that's a worse ration than cable tv
Talking about the ills of excess consumerism, while promoting a business. Cute.
It depends on where you live on your type of water quality in places that have bad or toxic water. Then buying water bottles is a safer cleaner alternative because it might be coming from a cleaner tap. And also different water brands taste different. Some may taste the same but generally they taste at least slightly different like Fiji. For example, it’s got a clear taste that anything you eat around the time you drink the Fiji water will alter the taste or if you have plaque or bad teeth are going Rotten those will affect the taste of Fiji water and the type of container that it is provided in affects the taste of the water. If you have a plastic water bottle that’s been in the sun for a while then you refrigerated some of those plastic chemicals to make the water can leach into the water bottle. That’s why there’s expiry dates on plastic water bottles, meanwhile, glass is in the way it’s made and in the way it affects the water including taste
@@johndong7524 Guess she has to get paid somehow lol...the hypocrisy!
How is your sponsor different from the Stanley Cup hypocrisy? "Environmental approach with all that garbage per box?
I personally think it’s cool to see my hydroflask have so many little dents, dings, scratches, stickers because it shows that I used the hell out of it.
An actual comfort bottle. I feel you! I love that my bottle has ink stains.
Right?? I have a water bottle that must be all of 13 years old by now, and it has a dink on the bottom. I dropped it because my best friend surprised me by showing up unexpectedly when I was having a hard time. We're all a bit dinked up, let your water bottles be dinked up too.
My Sigg water bottle (anyone remember those?!) is all dented and I love it.
Someone stole my hydro flask at the airport 😢
Reminds me of Mater and his sentimental value to his dents 😌
The irony of reusable cups/bottles becoming fast fashion-like trends is lost of so many people.
You maybe only need like two at most so you can wash one while using the other, but even that is excessive
I dread the inevitability of all these people discarding/ donating once the trend is over. $750 million waste of a perfectly good resource, as if natural resources aren't finite and landfills aren't filling up.
@@purplepotato8849I work at apartament mantinence and the amount of these I find all the time is incredible... I do take nice ones home since they are free and trash the rest
I’ve been thinking the same thing for years.
Just talked about this with my sister recently, all that came to mind when someone was explaining the Stanley cup craze to me was that episode of We Bare Bears where they keep buying all the tote bags
"Your hydroflask could outlive you and then be your urn"
*frantically changes last will and testament*
Once I was a live thing, struggling to contain water. Now what's left is fully dehydrated in ash form. It is time. Make me one with the water bottle at last.
🥲
@@myragroenewegen5426thats so poetic
@@myragroenewegen5426 ”I was once a water bottle. Now I'm in a water bottle."
That cup is so American!
Huge and car oriented design. Not backpack designed for public transportation commute.
Haha that's my confusion with the Stanley. I do use a car, but I need to work in various environments and carry a lot of stuff with me. Having to carry a cup like that around is silly.
Totally agree. I think that's why they're less popular in NYC. it's an awful design for commuter culture
It’s their ugliest product, they have lots of nice ones but unfortunately this Franken-cup will probably destroy the company when demand eventually tails off and they still crave those profits.
I mean...yes, it's American, and the design is car oriented because that is what's useful here. I live in a city with no sidewalks, no bike lanes, no streetlights, no public transport, and businesses that are miles away from any homes. It is functionally impossible to even go to the store without getting in a car, let alone commute to your job. This is the norm outside of a handful of major cities. A large cup that you can fit into your cupholder just makes sense for most Americans because we are forced into cars even for short trips since walking conditions are basically engineered to be hazardous to pedestrians, not because we are all lazy and just loooove cars.
There’s a 30oz version with a leakpoof flip straw which looks more suitable for commuting/backpacks
These cups will flood every thrift store in the near future.
As a former goodwill employee, they already are.
Yes, heard the other day that they are already showing up at second hand stores!
And, I'm sorry, but a used sippy lid is just gross. At least a glass can be adequately cleaned. ewww keep your lipsticky lids
I mean... I think you can deep clean it. Not like a metal cup can't take a cleaning; not like a huge, used couch. @@myredpencil
...and no one will want to buy them from there 🥲
I can understand wanting a nice quality water bottle and at a glance the Stanley cups look like they are quality (minus the lead content in them). But buying multiple ones just to match with your outfits is just so unbelievably stupid.
it's certainly odd...
I'm so mad I can't get a Stanley now because it's really rare for a cup that holds that much water to actually fit in a cup holder.
Plus I'm not spending $50 on a water bottle.
@@karendover6001simply modern makes the exact same cup for $30, and no lead content! Amazon or Target!
@@karendover6001yeah i agree. I have my dads hand me down hunter green old school Stanley soup thermos and i find it ridiculous people are rushing to get Stanley cups.
The brand reduce does and reduce has a better lid that doesn’t leak and is a better easier to clean design (at least in my opinion)
Me, living out of the loop, actually thought that this "Stanley Cup" that was getting much hype recently was a sporting event. 😅
Same and my sister had the same reaction when I told her about it lol
Same. And I think I have never in my life been more glad to live under my rock.
😂😂😂😂 😢 it is also a sporting event, don't know what sport. I have a Stanley thermos and it's fantastic, we have had it for over a decade, it was pricey, but it is excellent quality. Having said that I would not buy the cup, it's huge and looks bulky and cumbersome.
good for you!!! i love everything about your comment🤍
@@anaalves3658the stanley cup is the highest award in the national hockey league in America
This is definitely one of the best Stanley videos I’ve seen. I’ve started to get bored of Stanley and ‘Sephora kids’ videos as I feel some of them just turn into mean-spirited rants rather than actually examining history, marketing, consumer behaviour etc. Glad I chose to watch your video!
thank you so much, and so glad to hear you liked this analysis!
This! Omg yes, even some people in my personal life boil it down to "dumb middle schoolers/ gen alpha". It's just such an insane oversight to me, to blame kids for a feature that is built into our economic system and reinforced by our normalization of overconsumption. This is really not new, but it is indicative of the patterns that we've been seeing and will continue to see in the future.
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl I love your videos!!
@@Apes_are_monkeys absolutely!
Based off videos I've seen about Sephora kids, they should implement an age limit. Ban those Sephora kids' moms too while they're at it
i used to collect kpop albums so i developed a habit of measuring costs by how many albums it equaled. i cannot believe one stanley is the price of two albums
lmfao same. and Kpop albums are already expensive...
I measure things in terms of groceries, and wow... Stanley cups cost over a week of groceries ._.
dang I guess my album by taylor costs 1.5 Kpop albums.. oh well it is a 2 LP set
Bro that’s crazy
I fucking snorted bc I pre-ordered signed Ateez albums this past week thank you for this laugh
"history is a long and continuous story, one, in which, we are not in the final chapter" didn't expect to get hit with an existential crises in a video about a water bottle trend
It really amazes me how people like to obsess over literally everything and always making it about "personality".
Yup, and that personality being pretty much everybody else's doing the same. Zombies, they're called 😂
They have no personality so they are eager to find one.
It's less about the cup in particular, but more about desire for belonging. The cup represents social belonging. which to a teenager, is like life-and-death
That's because most modern advertising pushes people in that direction.
Exactly 😂😂
This has to be an American trend because where I live, I've never seen anyone with a water bottle like that.
It's just so weird, seeing those people run in the store, almost pushing each other out of the way to get a water bottle.... It's just a water bottle.... It just holds water. (And I have heard some arguments online that those Stanley Cups aren't the best at holding the water.)
I think the weirdest thing for me is seeing those people with 20 waterbottles at home.... One or two should be enough I think.
Yeah, Stanley cups leak ._.
Better to just get a normal water bottle you can actually use, put in a bag, etc instead of taking up a hand to carry a heavy cup
I'm glad some people have sense
lmao right? I live in Europe and nobody I know owns a water bottle
@brooklynsbaby4367 Any water bottle? Like... at all? Look, maybe it is because I live in a tropical country, but Brazilians all keep a water bottle, be it a used PET soda bottle or an AliEx-bought thermos, but having a source of water on you at all times can and did prevent me and friends from being dehydrated. I am not even asking for a fancy or expensive bottle, but not having one (and not knowing anyone who does) is interesting!
@@NothingXemnas Yes, at least in my experience. Most people buy small plastic water bottles on the go. At home we use drinking jars(quite popular) or just plain water glasses. The closest thing to a water bottle is maybe a thermos? Some people own a thermos, but it's mainly used for tea. I myself have a Strabucks thermos, I use it from time to time for coffee or any iced drink, but not water. Here you mainly see children or athletes carrying water bottles.
@@brooklynsbaby4367 As a fellow Eastern European, same! I got a pepco dupe of Stanley cup and I already hate it. I mean it is big and you can use it around your house like I do. But my thermos from the supermaket is way better because it is not so heavy and can be carried in your backpack. We are so used to buying plastic water bottles
I'm still using the hydro flask I bought in 2016 and it's beyond me why I'd need more than 1 reusable drinking container.
Tiktok has truly melted our minds
I wanted a hydroflask or a yeti so bad in high school. I tried and tried to buy one and it never lined up with my other expenses.
I'm glad I didn't cause I found two dupes at Walmart that work so fking good. My coffee cup stays warm for my entire 13 hour shift.
My water bottle is so solid and tough I ran it over and it just rolled to the side of my garage 😂
@@izzyha6173😂😂😂 brilliant. Keep using them until they truly die! My husband looses water bottles 🤦, I have one that lives in the car and a smaller one for hiking and travel, the smaller one also generally lives on my bedside table so that if I get thirsty during the night I have a closed water container. The rest of the time, give me a glass please 😊
i bought one 2 weeks ago and i plan to use it until i’m like 30+. i’m 17
Different sizes are the main reason that I own multiple.
It's why I haven't downloaded TikTok; not for some 'holier than thou' reason, I just don't think my brain could stand the onslaught and doomscrolling.
Last time I bough a water bottle was in 2021, the very same week I dropped my old one and it exploded into a million pieces. RIP Purple nalgene, your successor is still going strong
I broke my Nalgene by trying to hit an icicle and ended up thundercunting it full speed into a metal door
I love it how we call them reusable waterbottles meaning that we we're supposed to buy one and reuse it so we don't have to buy more but nonono, we get 100 different colours of that same waterbottle and defeat the whole reusable/low consumerism point
ps: you're hair and makeup look so cute in this video!
To add to the fleeting trend- I used to teach at an affluent middle school. The last year I was there, I watched HUNDREDS of hydroflasks go to the lost and found. I have about 15 of them that I took on the last day of school. Give it another 2 years and I could have done the same with Stanley and Owala
I hate the fact that there are children at school got bullied because they don't have Stanley's or if their parents can't afford the real one so they bought the dupes. So their child won't get bullied. 😢
That’s so sad how it’s now going towards children in a negative way to get Stanley cups 😢
A story as old as school itself.
Clothes, phones, cars, now water bottles.
Kids only repeat what their parents say and do. Look at the bad kids parents and you'll see what I mean.
@julm7744 baby .. people with families don't want to use half their days wages on a cup. Yes half. Because that's minimum wage.
@@izzyha6173just ignore the troll, they will go away faster that way. Besides their head is probably so far up their own @ss that it's too clogged up with s@#t to understand your point of view.
@@julm7744
Bruh, why would I spend half a days wage on a bottle I can get for 1/10 of the pricec elsewhere?
The Stanley Cup trend is a symptom of a much bigger problem that we have in society; which is that we are using our collections or the things that we buy to establish and embolden our identity. We have a loneliness epidemic right now, and people are trying to find a sense of community by getting caught up in water bottle culture/tote bag culture/funko pop culture/ whatever and engaging in retail therapy. I think that while people may be impressed with your collection, but they'll never know about your quirks, your values, or who you are _truly_ outside of that so you triple down on the overconsumption to make yourself feel better. We have to focus on not letting marketers, influencers, and brands dictate who we are before we can make any real changes.
The founder of Patagonia had a great quote about how the US has gone from citizen to consumer
Apparently consumerism is deeply ingrained in US mentalities as something positive and patriotic that support the economy. It's very different here in Europe...
I drink a lot of coffee, tea, and water and I wake up early and work long days so a solid thermos is absolutely necessary for me. However! I had ONE bottle that I used daily for over 10 years that was some off brand thermos which cost me like $10 at the time and the only reason I had to throw it out was because the inside was rusting as it was made of stainless steel. So once I sadly threw it out, I went to walmart to buy a solid $20 off brand one only because, like I said, I use it daily. This Stanley craze is just insane to me lol no one needs 40 frikken water bottles.
The more I dive into this topic, the more I see how brands aka rich people fool everyone, including me: with $45 from each buyer and businessmen becoming millionaires, while you are left with a cup that you no longer care about in a year and continue to live from paycheck to paycheck
Yup! You summed it up!
You discovered capitalism
You can’t really drink tap water safely where I live and for me personally the taste difference is noticeable enough that anything but bottled water is truly unpleasant so we go to a water store like once a week to refill our gallon bottles with the purified water from the dispensers.
I used to live in a city like this, I got some great stainless steel gallon containers. I tried glass but they were heavy, and kept breaking. I bought the stainless steel ones over two years ago and am still able to sanitize and use them to this day.
you live in the fuckin third world or somethin?
Sounds like when I lived in Phoenix. I was a water tester, carbon filters that you put on your tap or the pitchers work just as well. Water stores use reverse osmosis which removes everything including minerals you need.
I once lived in an apartment where the tap water actually have rust molecules in it. Because I used to boil water straight from tap back home, I thought I could do the same there. What I don't realize then was that my parents filtered the tap water using two different filters to get the water quality we have at home.
Rust accumulates in the water container after a while and I got stomach ache lol. I then used the RO water dispenser where you can fill up bottles for home use after that, or just straight up bought bottled water. Definitely got leery of any taps not in my parents' home after that.
Same was with Hydroflask - every influencer/gym influencer had one. Now it almost disappeared when Stanley went to the game
gotta wait for people to get rid of the collection they have by pushing the new It bottle trend so that after, you can sell em more of the old brand all over again...
"can be your urn when you die"
priceless!!
I’m a Canadian living in Europe and I honestly was blown away by this trend. Meaning, I couldn’t believe it was real. True, when visiting back home I do see people I know with water bottles but I didn’t realize how large the trend had become. I do have water bottle I use for yoga and workouts but it’s a very rare thing to see here. It’s often remarked by my euro friends that you can spot an American because of their water bottle. I wouldn’t say we are less hydrated either, it’s just a very odd “consumption” trend that hasn’t yet hit this market. That being said, one must buy water everywhere they go- Restaurants etc., and bottled still or carbonated water is more often purchased for home use, but it is in glass bottles that everyone religiously returns for refunds. It might be interesting to make a little side video showing how different cultures view “water”. As an essential and part of culture. Love you videos always, you keep my accountable and always curious! Thanks so much!
I’ve actually NEVER seen anyone walking around with a Stanley cup irl and I go outside into the city centre pretty much every day
They're really clunky and awkward to carry. I can imagine especially so when they're full tbh
That's because only people in cars can really use those. Far too large to comfortably lug around.
I can definitely see that, it's a very heavy cup designed to fit in a car cupholder
It makes sense that they'd be a lot more popular with people living in the suburbs who have to drive through half an hour of sprawl to get anywhere than with people living in a more walkable city neighborhood
I'm in england and i saw a girl who looked no older than 10 carrying a huge stanley cup
I may be the only one, but I really want to see a deep dive on slimes and their impact (society, environment etc.)
I buy water bottles for functionality. I am not a fan of straws, so i get ones that twist open. I need a tall skinny water bottle that fits in my backpack side pocket and i like having a handle, so i can lazily carry my bottle on walks or hikes. Not gonna lie though I have a preference for pastels. ❤
I have a water bottle that fits all of those requirements (and is pastel) that I got from Walgreens for $14. It kept my water with ice cold overnight.
I have a preference for stainless steel surfaces because you can't damage the coating if there's none :-D
I'm Filipino and here in the Philippines water tumblers (mostly known brand here was Aquaflask, some of its rival were Hydroflask sold in the malls here) has also been a part of almost everyone's life from students, athletes, office workers like me, travelers or even people who prefer water over milkteas or iced coffees. Actually, the good thing on having a tumbler on hand made me save money and prevent myself making a purchase of water bottles on the go. 😊💙
So do you mean everyone gets this tumbler form factor with the straw? I looked up aquaflask and I could only see bottles with a screw off cap, no tumblers. Also, do some people bring their tea in a reusable container from home?
@@SnakeKillsDumbledorf im confused with your comment but ill explain haha. Aquaflasks are reusable water bottles usually bought with the screw off cap and are very popular here in the philippines
@@SnakeKillsDumbledorf"Milk tea" in Philippine English actually refers to what American English calls "boba tea." I believe the commenter is referring to the drinks one can buy at boba tea shops, which they transfer to their water bottles. I suppose it's possible to prepare it at home, but I imagine most would simply purchase them at stalls.
I personally don't know of anyone who does this, but it's definitely not unlikely.
@@PunoNgBuhay Ohhh thank you. Here you can get boba tea with or without milk so it never even occurred to me!
I can’t really make a comment on this trend because I sport multiple Yeti’s, from 1 gallon water jug for work, small and medium coffee mugs etc, around 10 of them but every single one serves a purpose, they have been acquired over the last 8 years and they all have scratches, dents and character. They definitely aren’t status symbols but have a place in my daily life. I also do not own glasses and drinkware due to always being out camping, travelling and working.
Having one for an outfit is kinda nuts.
i love my yeti & have had it for at least 7 years... i never would have bought it however... it was a gift
I'm with you there. In Australia, Frank Green is the big popular water bottle, and for good reason - because they're fantastic, and they have replaceable parts so you can keep using it. I have one of those, and other water bottles, but they're all different sizes - one I keep in my bag for shopping trips, another is for work, another is to keep by my bedside to take my medication, another I bought for a physically demanding show where I needed to be super hydrated, etc etc. Even if I don't take them out, I still keep them in the fridge as a reserve of cold water.
owned my first metal waterbottle for 5 years. I'd wanted one so long and my mum bought it for me as a surprise gift, which for us at the time was a big deal, since they were expensive. I loved it so much even as it got scratched up, but unfortunately last year I lost the lid somehow. I kept it as a vase for a while but then when I moved I decided it was time to let it go. Was genuinely upsetting to have to do so ! While it seems ridiculous to have a connection to a waterbottle of all things, having one item from more purposeful consumption is so much more rewarding than having hundreds of different colours of the same thing. While we seek personal actualisation from buying many kinds to reflect our personalities, ultimately that kind of connection to your possessions can't be bought. it happens randomly when the item is connected to a memory or a person who gave it as a gift, and then develops over time. It's hard to remember this sometimes - I do have a replacement that I am not nearly as fond of and have been considering swapping out. but who knows, one day it too might have a nostalgic affect. thanks for the thoughtful video!
(I will caveat that I think it's interesting that consumption mania of women is so widely critiqued and ridiculed, when as you said, it so closely parallels generally men's attitude towards shoes and shoe drops, which is taken far more seriously. but that's another topic.)
Depending on the brand you might be able to buy a new lid
@HamazingKayliee I had the same thought. Some brands offer quite a lot of spare parts for their products. But sometimes things are out of production for too long and - I know that's not an actual point but our brains work like that - it just feels good to unbox something brand new.
Thought I needed to point out that Stanley cups have been one of the biggest trends for years now where I come from. I'm from rural Brazil, (midwest, in this state called Mato Grosso do Sul, 1 hour from Paraguay) and the countryside subculture in Brazil has been absolutely obsessed by these since 2018 I believe, so it's crazy to see how much it has blown out of proportion since the Crocs guy came in. But I have this vivid image in my mind of people smuggling counterfeit Stanley's across the Paraguay-Brazil border, and bringing home a Stanley for each one of their family members
(Just so you know, they weren't obsessed by these big ass Stanleys, but more so the ones that resemble a regular cup + lid + bottle opener)
That's really interesting! How has it grown since America lost their minds again?
For the longest time whenever I heard Stanley Cup I just thought of the NHL championship trophy...
Hi Cara, love your content! Have you considered getting or doing professional closed captions so the Deaf and hard of hearing audience (including myself) can gain full access to your videos?
hmm. i agree... isn't there a setting on your phone to show captions?
Turn on closed captions. I’m watching with it on now and it shows what she is saying
@@LizzyDear85theyre auto generated. While auto captions are getting really good, theyre still worse then human made transcripts/captions rn
seeing people with their massive stanley cup collections and knowing that 2 to 3 years from now, they wont be in trend anymore... hopefully they end up in thrift stores instead of in the landfill
With the lead content in the cup, the thrift stores might not want them.
it's not recommended to buy used water bottles because it very unhygienic... so these bottles are already wasted
@@sakurasakuranbo bro what? These bottles are even made from recycled steel lol. You can sterilize em.
The thrift store is often just a stop on the way to the landfill. It makes people feel good to donate, but they’re going to trash what doesn’t sell or what they get too much of. My local thrift stores were full of LuLaRoe at one point and I very much doubt every one of those ugly fabrics actually sold and wasn’t just trashed a month later to make room.
I live in the Netherlands and have just spotted the first one in real life - a direct colleague of mine has one and told me she had to go on an online queue and just about was able to order one and they were sold out within minutes.
I really hope those cups won't take over here as well, as so many people here already have reusable bottles :pp
What type or brand of bottle is popular in the Netherlands? Is it because of the cycling culture? Wondering since I saw another comment that in another part of Europe they don't carry water bottles.
@@SnakeKillsDumbledorf from my experience, most of Europe has people that carry water bottles, only they're usually far smaller and inside of bags and backpacks.
@@MarchuxProductionsyes I have a simple stainless steel one that I use the heck out of. I keep it in my bag
Great video. I also appreciate how your voice volume is constant throughout the video. Very pleasing to the ears to watch.
I got one reusable water bottle as a gift 6 years or so ago. Still using it. Never bought one myself. This Stanley craze just seems to be a way for all those people to feel like they "belong" to something that's trendy
I wonder if they are becoming less of a status symbol and more of a clutter symbol like mugs. So many people have an overflowing cabinet of mugs they've gotten as souvenirs or gifts. Personally, the only thing I care about in a water bottle is how easy it is to wash!
The worst part is that specific model (design) is not even that good at it's only function, holding water! because it leaks if tipped over! And the cap tend to gather mold if you don't wash it very often!
This is why (not only) this stanleys almost got canceled xd it overall was not Perfect cup xd but Then they did marketing and people are buying this...
Honestly, I didn't know about Stanley till my little cousin mentioned it. I looked into them and was happy about the cup holder aspect of it. I purchased just ONE because that's all I needed. I just needed one good water bottle with a straw and I work from home so I don't care about impressing other people, I just wanted a good big water bottle because my other one (RTIC) was clunky and big to hold.
These people buying everything freaking color and all the new releases are nuts.
According to what I’ve seen, Stanley cups are already “out” the new bottle to have is the Owala bottle. Water bottles have truly become the next victim of fast fashion. Makes me think that fast fashion will just become fast consumerism :/
I feel like owalas are too garish to wear the crown. Too many of the bottles look like something you'd buy for a kid going to summer camp.
@@SnakeKillsDumbledorf I guess they make their regular colors ugly on purpose because they want people to buy their limited editions instead. That doesn't mean a lot of the limited editions can't be ugly too of course
personally, i bought an owala because my previous water bottle was moldy and leaking. i waited TWO YEARS for owala to restock the color i wanted so i could buy my favorite one instead of compromising, buying a « temporary one » and end up buying my favorite as a second one anyway. personally i love it! but i don’t need more than one, and i intend to keep mine for many many years to come
I liked the historical intro, very informative.
Hi :) I'm a Vietnamese living in Germany and I think its very interesting to see how different trends are depending on the country. In Germany you can purchase a Stanley online but I have never seen someone with a Stanley here 😅. I just bought a thermos flask from Stanley as a christmas present because of the positive review about the quality. Just the imagination of people actually going crazy about a water bottle is so weird. Like what are they going to do if its not trendy anymore?🙃
I really love your videos and enjoy listening to your calm voice
Thukie are you the same Vietnamese lady living in Germany with her boyfriend that posts shorts about the culture shock? 😊
Your best video yet! You made so many points from psychological, historical, and cultural perspectives. Please keep up the excellent work.
In 50 years, goodwill is going to turn into a water bottle thrift store
Less than that
I actually have a few bottles, but they are all have different capacitys. As a 22 y/o without a car, this is actually practical for me. No bottle is newer than 2 years. For tote bags, I have a little collection, but I only bought two of them since I get a lot at fairs. Why peope buy so much is beyond me.
When I worked at UPS it was next to impossible to stay hydrated. What changed the game for me was buying a $25, 64oz stainless steel water bottle from Walmart and to go along with it, a water bottle “bag” by Sun Cube for $20. This water bottle/holder combo has lasted me YEARS through hell and back! UPS, the gym, hiking, conservation corps, even walking around festivals and the store. I’ve even taken it to bars. Then when it’s time to refill I like taking it to a gas station for icy fresh water, or use the leftover water/ice I didn’t drink while eating out. I always have water that stays nice and cold and the pockets to keep my essentials in. I don’t usually carry a purse/backpack anymore when I go out casually because this water bottle set up is so handy. It’s also decked out with my teenage sticker collection, so when I want to reminisce it’s instant nostalgia on my water bottle. Long story short, I wouldn’t trade my big beastly babe for anything ❤️
I find the Liquid Death story so fascinating. It's water, but the marketing is crazy.
Yep they are hitting it out of the park
Happy to hear your take on this! This craze truly never made any sense to me lol
As always, great video, Cara! Your perspective on water bottles becoming an accessory, a way to tell the world what kind of person you are, left me thinking. I'm from Argentina, and at least in the place where I live, we tend to reuse normal plastic bottles to take on the go. Of course, there are people who own stainless steel bottles too (I own one myself), but generally we only own one or two. On the other hand, Stanley has become a popular brand here, but not because of the water cups, but because of the thermoses instead. As we drink mate, we usually take our hot water with us in a thermos, and while Stanley is genuinely a good brand in terms of keeping your water temperature for long periods of time, I feel like too many people here got it because it's trendy and they saw it on TikTok. I genuinely hope the trend of owning 300 different colored water bottles doesn't spread here. We don't have the money for it anyways.
Great video. I replaced my 12+ years old Nalgene with a stainless steel bottle (not a big brand just a generic one) in 2023, when I was pregnant, extremely thirsty, and wanted to get away from drinking out of plastic. I really like and appreciate my new water bottle and wonder how long it will be around. Ironically about Stanley products, my husband takes along his daily work lunch using a Stanley thermos that my mom bought me when I was in IN MIDDLE SCHOOL in the early 00s. These objects are durable goods, their hyper-consumption these days is disturbing. If you just get something that works well and that you like and take good care of, it becomes like a little friend that accompanies you through your day.
I really really enjoyed this video!! Great job, especially because there are already so many videos on that topic, but yours really stands out!
I knew those Stanley bottles were trendy, but I had no idea people would have multiples, I feel out of touch, haha. I still have my old trusty Nalgene from 15 years ago. If I’m going to be away for more than 2 hours, I always pack a water bottle as I refuse to play for water.
In Eastern Canada, a lot of grocery stores stopped carrying plastic bags. I normally would use those plastic bags for smaller trash cans in the house. I now use other single use plastics (usually packaging from toilet tissue/paper towel) for the smaller trash. Any paper bags we get, we use for taking out the compost. I’m a big fan of reusing and reducing when possible.
If they didn’t lead to more overconsumption I like the idea of accessories to change the look/functionality of the waterbottle b/c changing the stickers or adding a strap to a waterbottle is better than buying a new one. But realistically people will just do both and then throw them out in a few years for a new trend.
Also the comparison of water bottle culture to fandoms is really funny. Let the water bottle shipping wars commence
I have been using the same backpack for 13 years. This thing has survived to hell and back. Getting one durable, high quality bag is prolly the best option. And are so much more practical than totes
I've had this conversation several times in the last few months as Owala bottles started to overtake Stanley cups. It is the wildest trend to me. I have a cabinet full of Yetis, Nalgene, and now a hydro flask without ever having bought one. They seemingly just appear. I wonder if I will get an Owala in a few months when the next brand takes over, and people disregard their Owalas.
Every time you kept mentioning Stanley Cup I kept thinking, “what does the Hockey championship have to do with water bottles?” 😂❤. Yes I’m old and have no clue about this water bottle craze.
Me too! Talk about a big and impractical cup! 😂😂
I'm excited for this video! Glad for a long video :)
The funny thing with tote bags is that I don't ever remember buying one, I just kind of keep acquiring them over time. But I *never* throw any of them out because they always become useful eventually. For whatever I need to bag. Sometimes I need to bag multiple different things.
Just found your channel today and I LOVE how you breakdown topics like this. Immediately subscribed and about to binge your other vids now cya
You've got some of the best content for consumers and thier mindsets. Thank you for the great video!
I stopped by a Homegoods and a Nordstrom Rack last week. Both had big water bottle/thermos sections… and took up a big portion of their clearance sections. Cups with missing lids or straws, dents, broken off handles… all damaged before being used.
Love the editing on this video. Something about the vibes of this video feel different than what you've made before, and I like it! One of my favorite videos of yours, keep it up!
I tried going with the trend when Hydroflask was the trendy water bottle. It became my work water bottle and I've developed a bit of a trauma bond with it lol. At this point you'd have to pry it out of my cold dead hands
The water bottle your dad won is literally the best one to have next to yeti lol
I usually don’t comment on videos often, but I just wanted to say how incredibly insightful this video was, good job!
I just found your channel and I LOVE it! This is exactly the kind of stuff that I nerd out about! Thank you for putting so much thought and knowledge into your videos!
I was thinking of getting either a Hydroflask or a Stanley for home use. But then I came across a nondescript brand called Ozark at the supermarket, and their tumblers are a fraction of the big names. And from my experience in the past few months, it’s an excellent tumbler and I don’t need anything better.I’ve put some cool stickers on the brushed natural stainless steel finish, making it more unique than those colourful, overpriced tumblers. I’m good with this.
8:52 Just a note the rush to buy the Starbucks collab was 1000% the resell market. I think they were reselling for upwards for $300 at some point so that’s why they were grabbing them by the fistful
New subscriber! Find your content very well written, very well presented and super interesting! And a big plus to you for speaking and not shouting, pleasant volume and a bit calming :)
Paper bags are so useful honestly, i use them to gift food to my friends, cut them up to make shipping package, use as garbage or recycle bag, lunch bag, donation bag, etc.
This was great! I'm in the UK, where Stanley cups are available online and in a few shops, but not places like our equivalent of Target or Walmart. (Those shops have the dupes). They're £45 here, which is *insane*. Mostly, though, I just wonder whether people really fill them up and drink them, and how they don't spend all day in the loo 🙂
I bottled water's defense, some people live in places where they face conflict with their local and state government about the safety and regulation of their water sources. And even if you don't have that problem, placing a filter on your pipe will show you that there are small anomalies in your water that would turn people off from drinking them, like tiny bits of rust from pipes. And if you don't have THAT problem, tap water has a particular TASTE that can really turn people off and away from drinking from the pipe.
I may across as a water snob, but I only drink filtered or bottled water. However, when I need water for hot chocolate or tea I'll take it from the pipe. Yes, I'm a hypocrite, I know. But I have less than 5 bottles and they all serve very different purposes. I can accessorize with anything else in my wardrobe instead of buying another bottle.
Just stumbled upon your video here, but definitely enjoyed it! I've definitely been in this trend briefly as far as the water bottles until one day I was looking to donate items and realized how many I've gotten (ones from work included.) Although I can't say I'm the best at minimzing things still (sneakerhead here,) this continues to give me great food for thought. Keep on killing it!
just found your channel and i really like the content! its the kind of video essay i enjoy learning from.. history and how it affects us today. appreciate the editing too. new sub!
Wild that We Bare Bears 'Tote Life' is now just real life. Love your stuff, Cara.
Art was reflecting life already in that case. We Bare Bears was basically commentary on an already booming hipster culture.
the comparison between fandom subcultures and the water bottle craze is a bit too far of a leap in my opinion. i understand the thought process there, but fandoms and other subcultures form *outside* of the need to buy commercial goods. you can be a member of a fandom or a subculture without adhering to the aesthetics, fashion trends, or merchandise collecting, because the connection members of that community share is based on a story, a piece of media, love for music and art, and even personal values. with the water bottle "culture", all of these things have been artificially manufactured - there's no genuine message, morale, or story that stanley girlies share. the only thing they share is the love for a commercial product, and that's not the case with fandoms and other subcultures.
Thank you for sharing this information that helps open our eyes to these new trends and make us reflect on what we buy ❤
a really gr8 use of long form content! you're so articulate
I grew up with people buying an entire closet for their many shoes. Now it's water bottles. I think fashion and trends and overconsumption will always be around. It might be shoes or bottles or hair clips. But humans be humaning. Since the dawn of man.
Its definitely an American practice.
In a year or so, I predict massive amounts of Stanley cups for sale on marketplace. Kinda like Beanie Babies.
Cara, let me say I love you so much! I’m not a UA-camr at all but I teach and make presentations for my courses and use to begin with a minutes of story or origins of the theme, even since we lived in caves 😅
I have two beverage bottles: 1 skyrex (emotional support) water bottle I've had for 2 year, and 1 glass bottle I got from Superstore to drink iced coffee from (I don't wash the water bottle as often as I should, hence I NEEDED a seperate one if I wanted to store dairy in it), so watching people have 20-30 of the same waterbottle is really surreal for me. I can hardly imagine swapping my water bottle to wash it, much less swapping EVERY DAY
The only thing I disagree with is the comparison of the environmental impact of paper bags vs. plastic bags. This kind of calculation is always making people think plastic might be a better option after all, but it usually goes by one parameter like CO2 emissions during production. This is relevant, yes, but environmental impact also spans a products disposal and plastic is a material that stays forever and breaks down into smaller and smaller microplastics that are everywhere, including our bodies. The impact of that is something we can hardly grasp yet, so the whole calculation is bogus, sorry. When paper breaks down it's organic material and can be used to grew new raw materials. So 100 years from now the view of what was less impactful might be VERY different.
You can never clean it properly, after few months.. they wearing out in their parts, so you will need to throw them away eventually. You can’t use it for 10, 30, or 50 years like my favourite classic design glass… these cups are ugly, not transparent (which I personally hate to drink from), heavy, stupid. God bless everyone who chooses their own trends, not spending and carrying a weird heavy junk..❤
Such a great video, really blew my mind on many aspects. I make videos on consumerism as well and had not a single clue about stanley cups being this big. I really appreciate the history and overall philosophical approach. The identity representation is something I need to think about for a while, you are so spot on with it and I think inversely can be the way we find a balance of healthy consumption in society. Very well done.
That trend is fascinating and thanks for your analysis of those topics!
I would love to see the culture behind expensive makeup and skin care. Because other than fashion or water bottles, the brand name does no appear on the skin. No one can see if the skin care just is 4€/50 mL or the makeup is a cheap, but good working one for that person. Or if its expensive and good working. But so many people spend >100€/month for expensive skin care and makeup. I dont understand that, but maybe you have the perfect answer.
How heavy is this thing when filled?
right??? it must be a workout
That article thats like "people still buy bottle water even as faucet water remains free" for who?? Not americans lol, unless maybe theyre refilling their water bottle only at public water fountains. Everyone i know pays a water bill thats based on usage, maybe thats different somewhere else but the article specifically is talking about americans.
Also just weird that it mentions americans buying both reusable and single use water bottles but fails to consider most individuals arent buying both at the same time, they serve different needs/wants.
It's still pretty cheap though.
And also, alot of more rural parts of the US don't have safe tap water, ever seen ohio tap water? It's nasty
European here, we pay water bills too.
This also applies to tote bag culture, how it started as an eco-friendly alternative and now they are matched to outfits
An almost instant sub. Well presented, informative and entertaining. What more could you want? Keep it up!
thank you so much!!
I'm still using my hydro flask
I recently learned that Maslow's hierarchy of needs was heavily taken from Blackfoot beliefs and they were obviously not given any credit. Also, it is a theory, not a fact, so be careful how strongly you identify with it.
yes. and if one digs more deeply, it was mis-represented. maslow himself didn't depict his ideas in a pyramid!
I'm a dude and for the life of me I couldn't understand the crazy. I have a water bottle that I received through a business event. been using it for 2 years now.
I must say you did a great job breaking this entire thing down and explaining the reasons why it got out of hand.
Great video
I have reused the same two tote bags that I bought while traveling in Japan spring 2018. That's 6 years ago and I use them at least once every single they and they are still going strong. Which means I have used them well over 2000 times.
I would hate to carry additional few pounds of ugly junk, to pretend I am trendy and cool for other “community” participants. 😂
It fills me with sadness that many people are so out of touch with their own identity (and the process of forming one for yourself) that they make a water bottle their whole identity. What happens, when the Stanley goes inevitably out of style? Who are you then?
Also, I cringe at people who describe themselves as "(brand name) girl". What does that even mean, and why do you promote some random brand like this for free???
So glad someone said this. The Stanley cup has lead in it, leaks like crazy, is super heavy, and a lot of people are just buying dozens of them and then throwing them out or selling them when they want a new one. I have had the same "reduce" coffee travel mug since I was like 15, and it's still kicking to this day. I've got 2 nalgene's for long distance hikes, a hydro flask for school, and a giant fifty/fifty insulated water bottle for when i was a lifeguard and now for beach days and road trips. Get a few good water carriers to use for different purposes and be done with it.
hey would like to share with you that your videos about bottle culture, self care obsession, shein and the trend ' TikTok made me buy it' inspired me for the topic of my bachelor's thesis related to consumerism, thank you😂❤
that’s so amazing!! good luck on your thesis!
@@thefinancialfreedomgirl thanks, will be needed😂