Hi Earth Cuppers! 

First off, from the entire Earth Cups team, we’d like to thank you for your loyal support. Without you, we would just be a couple friends in a dorm room with an idea. In fact, it was just eight months ago that we started a GoFundMe campaign, hopeful that our idea might resonate with a few people. After working with manufacturers and composting facilities for several months, we finally ordered our first batch of cups, a risk we felt worth taking. Some people thought we were crazy, throwing ourselves head-first into an established market with big-name competitors like Solo and Hefty. And, sometimes, it was hard to argue with them: after all, where were we going to sell 100,000 cups? Thankfully, our push to Make Sustainability Cool was right on the money: we sold out in under two months, and have since massively increased our reach and following. 

This fall, we launched an ambassador program, a fun and organic way to get Earth Cups to more college campuses. The support has been amazing: we recently passed the 500 ambassador mark (and counting)! We also launched a partnership with @dyeislife, who now exclusively use our cups for their college tournaments. We’ve thought about creating a College Leaderboard, where the campuses that use the most Earth Cups become eligible for certain prizes and offers. It’s hard to say which college campus (of the 50+) has been the most supportive of Earth Cups up to this point: if we had to guess it might be Cornell, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Tulane, MIT, Wisconsin, or Michigan. If your school isn’t on there, fear not: this is just the beginning. That being said, we’re super excited––and proud––that so much of our growth can be attributed to college students. After all, we first recognized the problem of single-use plastic cups on college campuses and were determined (albeit a little nervous) to take on a cost-sensitive market with a higher quality, better-for-the-Earth product. 

After such an exciting fall, we are psyched to release our EC Winter Collection, which has some sweet new items like recyclable cups, EC hoodies, beanies, and t-shirts. Our company has continued its charitable efforts (one of our goals since Day 1), too: since our last blog post, we have launched 5 additional partnerships with incredible non-profits: Eden Reforestation Projects, World Animal Protection, Global Green, Dolphin Spirit, and Cape Eleuthera Foundation. 

Looking forward, there’s a lot we want to accomplish. For one, we want to continue to establish better composting infrastructure for college campuses and event venues (like breweries, stadiums, bars & restaurants), so we can better ensure that more of our cups complete their intended life cycle. As mentioned, we’re also introducing a recyclable cup in Q1 2022, which will allow customers without proper composting solutions to close the loop on their single-use cups. In addition, by setting up our own production site in the US, we hope to better make use of new sustainable materials––like seaweed, coconut oil, hemp, or other plastic alternatives. 

A big thanks is due to those who have believed in our vision––especially our incredibly hard-working interns––and, perhaps, to those who have doubted our project. Both parties have pushed us to keep going, despite the frequent obstacles faced when starting a business in the midst of a global pandemic and supply-chain crisis. Ultimately, it’s your unwavering support––whether it’s giving us much-needed advice and encouragement, buying a 50-pack for a get-together with friends, or spreading Earth Cups to your organization––that has kept us afloat and determined to #stopSolo and make sustainability cool. 

Thanks for sticking around this long. Please use the discount code ILOVEEC to save 20% when you Drink Sustainably as a small token of our appreciation for your loyalty.  

Your co-Founders,

Misha & Peter

+ the EC team 

P.S. Join our ambassador network here, or other open positions here.