Innovation

KeepCup coffee cups are made from either polypropylene or tempered glass with the option of either a silicone or cork band. The cups have an expected life of roughly 4 years, after which they can be easily recycled at any recycling plant. The cups are manufactured in either Melbourne (Australia), London (United Kingdom), or Los Angeles (USA) based on the target market. These coffee cups have helped eliminate an estimated 5 million disposable coffee cups from going to landfills each day, globally. Furthermore, according to research conducted by Edge Environment in assessing the environmental footprint of the KeepCup against its competitors, the KeepCup has a much lower environmental impact than single-use cups and thus carries lower climate change and energy-use impacts than other single-use and multi-use cups.

Inspiration

Fabia Pryor, a Sustainability Manager at KeepCup Australia, shared the story and inspiration behind KeepCup. She described how Abigail and Jamie attempted to change the “convenience culture” embedded in society by using their experience as café owners. Their solution was to introduce a product into the market that curbs the single-use culture and resonates with consumers' values.

“It was a brother-sister duo, Abigail and Jamie Forsyth; they owned a series of cafés called Bluebag…they had been involved with their cafés for about a decade when they really started to see an increase in the use of disposable coffee cups, and they wanted to see a solution to that. They started a trial with soup cups which they bought off the shelf and had 15% of people return the cups…They saw that there was a market there for reusables.”

In an interview with CEO Magazine in 2017, the managing director of KeepCup, Abigail, spoke of the inspiration behind the KeepCup. She went on to talk about the journey after finding no reusable coffee cups on the market that were suitable for their own and consumer’s needs. Thus, she started her own revolution with the KeepCup.

“[S]o we looked around to buy a reusable alternative, but we couldn’t find one that would fit under the group head of the coffee machine and that had the same internal raise to dose the coffee correctly. So, we decided to make our own.”

Abigail further went on to to talk about her “eureka moment” in an article released in early 2018 aptly named "The KeepCup Story." She thought of the foolishness behind using a single-use sippy cup for her daughter, whilst comparing that with her own personal coffee habits and deciding that action needed to be taken to reduce this wasteful behavior.

“My moment of clarity was when I was heating the milk in my daughter’s sippy cup one morning. Imagine if I gave her milk in a disposable cup and then discarded it? That idea seemed so wasteful, yet I did it with coffee twice a day! This moment was the call to action.”

Overall impact

KeepCup has initiated a revolution that normalizes reuse across the globe. From diverting almost 5 million single-use coffee cups from landfills each day to supporting various charities through the initiative 1% for the Planet, KeepCup has started to shift the stigma surrounding reuse into something that has now become a staple part of its users' identities.

Business benefit

KeepCup has been built off the philosophy of keeping “purpose beyond profit.” They pride themselves on being one of the first few companies to become an Australian B Corporation. They believe that corporate social responsibility needs to be a whole-of-business initiative that informs all business decisions. In an interview given to Acuity magazine in 2017, Abigail explained how their supply chain impacts the way they conduct themselves as a business. She stated that an ethical supply chain results in ethical business practices.

“Within our business, it's about how our supply chain works in order to minimize environmental mishaps, from the design and choice of materials to the way we freight and the way we manufacture.”

Social and environmental benefit

KeepCup users divert more than 5 million single-use coffee cups from going to landfills each day. They refer to their users as “Change Makers” since “everyone using a KeepCup is making a change.” In 2018, KeepCup commissioned Edge Environment, a sustainable consulting firm, to provide insight into how they should manage the environmental footprint of their products. The report showed that the environmental impacts of using a KeepCup was—at times, significantly—lower than any of the other single-use and reusable cup alternatives measured. KeepCup’s commitment to supporting the environment is further bolstered through their commitment to 1% for the Planet: they donate 1% of their global sales revenue to charities that support the environment and biodiversity. They believe their pledge to 1% for the Planet ensures that there is continued support towards the responsibility of the corporate citizen to the environment, their employees, and their communities.

KeepCup has had a phenomenal impact on a societal front through their innovation. They have begun to normalize reuse and bring new momentum to an old practice across the globe. Fabia articulated during the interview that by choosing a reusable coffee cup, consumers are making the decision to help support a movement to reduce the amount of single-use waste and are starting their own journey towards single-use-free living.

“It actually empowers everyone who is using a KeepCup to see the impact they can have. So, around the world we’re seeing a reuse revolution…a movement of ‘Change Makers’ who can see the impact they’ve had. They might start with coffee cups and [after they] see the impact [in] reducing waste in that sector they may move onto broader things and champion single-use-free and disposable-free more broadly.”

Interview

Fabia Pryor, Sustainability Project Manager