It's about cups. Sexy, sexy cups. Well, actually it's about getting college students thinking about the planet and about changing their personal habits. But the "sexy" sure doesn't hurt.
The University of Washington's Young Democrats club launched a Sustainability is Sexy campaign this month to encourage students to bring their own cups to the campus's coffee shops. And their sexy slogan is popping up all over campus on shirts, buttons, stickers, and posters -- where organizers hope it will remind students that thinking about your environmental impact is totally hott.
The posters feature a red-lipsticked mouth preparing to gulp some steamy coffee. The shirts are the well-tailored, hip American-Apparel type, with those luscious lips marking a coffee cup.
"You think of sustainability and you don't think of sexy right away," said Elliot Helmbrecht, UW Young Dems executive for legislative and political affairs. "So this catches your eye."
Sex (well, at least the idea of it) has never really hurt a campaign. And that double consonant sound helps, too.
"They're bright; they're green and yellow; it says 'sexy' on them. People look at them," said Nicholas Fusso, UW student and chief financial officer for the Young Dems. "And we're talking about a bunch of college kids here. We're talking about a very specific demographic, and something with the word 'sexy' on it catches attention."
They took on the coffee cup issue because it's something students (and professors, and all of Seattle) deal with every day. On the UW campus alone, people toss 5,000 empty coffee cups a day -- cups often made from bleached and wax-covered virgin paper that can't be recycled.
"Seattle is a coffee city. A lot of people drink coffee, and it's something relatively easy that everybody can do," said Fusso. "It's not expensive -- to buy your own cup can cost as little as $5. We're not asking [people] to drink less coffee or drink a specific kind of coffee, or do anything except just bring your own cup. And that's a really easy thing to do."
And it will actually save students money. If you bring your own cup, on-campus coffee shops offer any size drip coffee for $1.00, or $0.10 off espresso drinks. Off-campus businesses often offer similar discounts.
"They don't have to pay for as many cups. They don't have to pay for the garbage removal," said Fusso. "They're making more money than they would if they had to pass that cup out."
The students started the project on a budget of just $50, which they used to print the buttons, stickers, and shirts. Now they've sold out of the first 70 shirts and are taking orders for the next batch from as far away as Thailand. They're giving away the buttons and selling the shirts at cost -- so they're really not getting anything out of this except the glee of a successful campaign.
"It really takes away that stigma that you have to be this real radical, fringe-of-society kind of person to be an environmentalist," said Fusso. "In fact, it should be all of us. It should be on our minds at least, and we should be doing something about it all of the time."
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Comments
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Robert Delfs Posted 11:54 am
08 Mar 2007
OK, I am getting cranky. In my (now ancient) youth, some women organized a short-lived but popular campaign around the slogan: "We say 'yes' to guys who say 'no'". For you kids who haven't taken a course in mid-20th Century American history yet, this was about resisting the draft. I don't think anyone imagined at the time that it would do much to stop the Vietnam War, but I still thought this was a great idea. I just regretted that I could only burn my draft card once.
As Kate says, coffee mugs and t-shirts linking sex and sustainability can't do any harm. And it has to be better to have the kids snogging each other in their dorms rather than out burning fossil fuels cruising. And is there any way to have more fun without burning carbon - or eating carbs?
Robert Delfs
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Shawn Posted 2:55 am
09 Mar 2007
America is a 'follower' culture. We cling desperately to our celebrity worship and only accept products and ideas that we know are popular. It's this fact that makes the stickers and t-shirts effective. On that campus when it becomes popular to have those stickers and shirts then the idea can finally be accepted.
So what Americans have done when they have magically made the stickers and shirts for a cause popular is that they have given that cause the window of opportunity to thrive. Granted, it's not a guarantee that the idea will thrive, but it sure helps.
- On a side note I am upset that I can not purchase a mug or stickers online anywhere that I see.
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Delay And Deny Posted 3:04 am
09 Mar 2007
And they call that "sustainable"? Once the glee of "printing buttons" wears off, these kids will be back to playing Texas Hold 'em in the dorms.
Let me tell you something...you know what's sustainable? Exxon-Mobile. They'll be supplying us energy for the next millenium.
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Mandis Posted 11:01 am
09 Mar 2007
And to point out the irony in your Exxon Mobile comment, (which I'm hoping is a joke), the only reason Exxon is even pathetically trying to make 'sustainable' energy is because of the vary, 'glee,' 'fad,' and 'follower' culture you are all speaking of. Do you really think an oil mogul like the Exxon Mobile Corporation actually cares enough about the environment to suddenly jump into action? Hardly. Movements, that started out just as small as this one have caused a revolution in the way that we think about our daily lives and how we impact the world around us.
In the long run, I'm sure that 20 shirts, a few stickers and buttons won't really impact the environment as much as 5000 non-recyclable cups a DAY.
So instead of sitting on your ass, logging onto the internet and criticizing a bunch of concerned college kids, maybe you should get out there and do something too.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead
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Robert Delfs Posted 11:35 am
09 Mar 2007
Robert Delfs
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KCFoodCircle Posted 6:28 am
11 Mar 2007
Wrap your head around a lot of belt-tightening measures, kiddo. Our lifestyles (worldwide) are due for a HUGE adjustment, whether the sexiness of sustainability catches on or not - the fact is: when you take something away, you gotta put something back.
So, learn to slow down, eh? It will pay off, bigtime. The kids snogging away in the dorms (anything to avoid unnecessary travel in their SUVs) have a good idea, so long as they keep an eye on the population rate. ;}
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pamlaa Posted 11:37 pm
02 Jul 2007
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Sunshine Posted 1:38 pm
07 Nov 2007
Nicko's Mom
Sunshine
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stoptypinganddosomething Posted 2:38 am
22 Dec 2007
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Amfora Posted 1:14 am
16 Jan 2008
male drink straw
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