Screenshots of a TikToker's Shop video encouraging viewers to buy disposable plastic cups to use at home sparked outrage in the subreddit r/Anticonsumption.
"TikTok shop is getting out of hand," the caption said.
The screenshots show a woman holding a plastic cup of iced coffee, telling viewers, "Put your at home coffee in a plastic cup. It feels more bougie and you actually drink it." At the bottom of the video is a link to "shop 100 sets 12oz plastic cups."
Fellow Redditors were disgusted. "TikTok is literally rotting people's brains," one person said grimly.
"Since when is a plastic cup bougie?" one person asked.
Another replied, "It's the specific shade of green that signals they're rich enough to buy $7 coffees."
As it happens, the featured cup does have a green straw with a color conspicuously close to a Starbucks straw.
"These people clearly have never heard of the French Revolution," one person joked, referencing the excessive and wasteful consumption promoted in the video.
Unfortunately, single-use cups are an issue around the world, with an estimated 500 billion disposable cups being used every year, 16 billion of which are used in the U.S. alone. This is a problem for several reasons. The plastic-lined paper cups take a long time to decompose — up to 20 years for one cup — contributing to an accumulation of waste and pollution worldwide.
Not only are the cups wasteful — they can be downright dangerous due to the amount of chemicals and microplastics they contain.
"Meanwhile I just bought a home espresso machine and now sort of cringe when I get takeaway coffee bc [sic] all I think about is the microplastics in the cups," one Redditor wrote.
Microplastics have been linked to a number of health risks, such as endocrine disruption, weight gain, cancer, Alzheimer's, and reproductive system damage.
Aside from the personal and environmental threats posed by the plastic cups, many users were just genuinely confused by the strategy.
"The loose leaf I buy costs nothing, my own thermos keeps it hotter, and my drink always tastes better," one person commented.
So next time, skip the plastic and opt for your own container — your wallet, your body, and the environment will thank you.
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