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제목 [No.222 Social News] True Environmental Protection.
카테고리 SocialNews

True Environmental Protection.

 

Cheongdae Times Editor-in-Chief Gyeong-Im Bok

 

Starbucks ran a 'Reusable Cup Day'. This event is designed for Starbucks 50th anniversary and World Coffee Day. The event was held in many countries, including Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

 

The purpose of the planning is to deliver an eco-friendly message about the value of sustainability and reduction of the use of disposable cups. Starbucks Korea took orders up to 20 cups at a time to prevent hoarding. When the reusable cups are exhausted, drinks are provided in the existing disposable cups.

 

The event drew attention in several ways. Starbucks store in Seoul was able to order personal and receive each drink an hour later. There was a long line at the store, and one person was seen buying 10 drinks each. Since the event was held for only one day, it seems that people are flocking to buy the limited-edition cups.

 

The purpose of Starbucks' eco-friendly planning was great. However, there are opinions that these events create negative effects. On this day, the Starbucks application, which can be ordered non-face-to-face, delayed access due to the large number of simultaneous users. Despite the situation suffering from COVID-19, the store was very crowded and the distance between people was not well maintained.

 

Even though it was an event with the meaning of protecting the environment, people did not stop hoarding. An online community posted an article saying, 'If you buy a small amount of espresso, it is convenient to bring several cups.' People who bought a lot of cups also posted selling of multi-use cups on second-hand sites.

 

The material of the reusable cup is a general plastic called polypropylene. Since disposable cups are made thicker than disposable cups, greenhouse gas emissions increase during the manufacturing process.


CIRAIG, a Canadian environmental protection and recycling organization, said, 'Plastic tumblers are meaningful to use more than 50 times.' said However, the recommended reuse of Starbucks multi-use cups is only about 20 times.

 

It looks better than disposable cups that are used once and thrown away, but it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the environment in the long term. In addition, there are many consumers who are loyal to the collection desire to obtain limited edition goods rather than to be eco-friendly.


Because of this controversy, this Starbucks event has been criticized as 'green washing'. Green washing refers to the act of promoting an eco-friendly image through advertisements while producing products that are not good for the environment. This is false advertising and act of deceives consumers.

 

The Korea Federation of Environmental Movement said Starbucks is mass-producing another plastic waste to reduce plastic. They said, ‘Please practically carry out sincere management for carbon reduction and the environment.'

 

Green washing pretended to eco-friendly is common not only at Starbucks but also at other brands. An example is a clothing brand. The Changing Markets Foundation (CMF), an eco-friendly campaign foundation in the Netherlands, pointed out and said, 'Clothing made from recycled plastic bottles is harmful to the environment and is only a tool for clothing brands to greenwash.’

 

According to CMF, eco-friendly products promoted by ASOS as recyclable are actually 54% nylon and 46% polyester, so recycling is impossible with current technology. H&M's eco-friendly products are 72% synthetic. Among Of this, 50% should be eco-friendly materials, but H&M did not disclose the exact percentage. There are many cases that only some use eco-friendly materials and the product itself is packaged as an eco-friendly product.

 

The world is increasingly emphasizing the importance of being environmentally friendly. The occurrence of eco-friendly consumption trend is also gradually increasing. Efforts to protect our Earth should be praised. However, you should refrain from using the environment as a means of sales by deceiving it because it is eco-friendly.

 

Consumers also should not be deceived by false advertisements from companies if they want to be truly eco-friendly. Rather than buying new eco-friendly products, you should reuse the products you have as much as possible. You should also refrain from consuming what is often called "pretty trash", such as ornaments.

 

Many Eco-friendly products have expensive price. To solve this problem, eco-friendly products should be increased. As consumers become more interested in eco-friendly products, companies will become more cautious about making eco-friendly products and lower prices.

 

Due to the recent COVID-19, the number of delivery and take-out orders has increased, resulting in an increase in the number of disposable products. The earth is already overflowing with garbage.

Definitely, it is not right to create another waste in the name of being eco-friendly. Both sellers and consumers need to rethink what truly green is for the planet.

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