He was sick of sending folks off with a "compostable" cup full of the finest organic ingredients, artfully prepared, knowing that the cup would probably end up in the landfill and he was paying good money to allow this to happen.
Of course it would be "nice" if this whole eco, green, compostable thing really worked, but let's face it. Growing a ton of corn (with the requisite water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, fuel) to make a ton of plastic cups (more energy) that get trucked here (more fuel) and that no one can get to compost at home (they just sit there) and no one can seem to get into a commercial compost can (not available at home or on the street; BUT if they did, it would still be trucked up to Cedar Grove near Seattle) and thus ends up in the landfill is not the model of sustainability.
What Brian wanted is the Portland Cup! He didn't want just another logo-branded travel mug that he'd order by the case, sell to his customers, and then watch as a good percentage of them regularly forgot to use them. He wanted a SYSTEM that he could plug into. A system of ubiquitous, durable, reusable, washable, cups that will help Sip, Cellar Door Coffee Roasters (our little business), and other businesses like ours to realize our dream of kicking the disposable cup habit.
To that end, Brian and I are going to spend the next 2 weeks refining our economic business models for Portland cup using our "Street MBAs". We'll then meet and try to hash out a master plan for Portland Cup Beta. If you've got input, let Brian or myself (Jeremy) know.
Should be some public announcements soonish!
No comments:
Post a Comment