Status: Not Recommended
A wheat straw plastic cup, what could go wrong? As much as I love socially conscious efforts, the reality remains that "being socially conscious in one aspect does not a socially conscious business make". (That's a quote I made up, to be read in 'moral of the fairy tale' voice.) Meaning, you don't get to do one good thing and think you're conscientious when everything else about your company is shady.
There are a stunning amount of deceptive business practices that amount to scams. The Friendly Cup is a spectacular fail; the issues surrounding an otherwise interesting and environmentally friendly product turned me away from singing its praises. And by the way, the Friendly Cup Trustpilot reviews reflect my experience exactly. They even apparently hacked a coffee shop's Facebook account. Let's dissect.
What Is Wheat Straw Plastic, Anyway?
Wheat straw plastic is made of the straw leftover after the wheat is harvested from the plant. The straw is typically baled to be used for animal feed, etc. By breaking down the cellulose, a completely natural polymer can be formed. This is done by breaking down cellulose lignins in the straw and mixing them with sugar.
Lignins in wheat are already quite hard, which is why humans can't eat them. Heat, maceration, and adding sugars creates a polymer substance that is then shaped and cooled. Once cooled, however, it would take a lot of heat to re-melt, same as with any microwavable plastic.
How Is Wheat Straw Plastic Socially Conscious?
Ultimately, the growth of the wheat removes more CO2 from the air than is released during the process of creating wheat straw plastic. That is what makes wheat straw plastic such a promising technology.
The final product, while not plastic in the petroleum-based way we're used to, looks and acts exactly like that plastic. Also:
- Repurposes surplus food byproducts.
- Microwave, dishwasher and freezer-safe.
- Fully compostable materials that biodegrades within 3-6 months in your home and 1-2 months in a municipal compost facility.
- BPA-free polymer won't leech carcinogens into your beverages.
- Just like standard petroleum plastics, the material is resistant to mold, yeast, bacterial or viral growth.
- Naturally non-allergenic.
- Creates additional income for wheat farmers, who often have burned wheat straw in the past.
- Conforms to FDA standards.
What Is The Friendly Cup?
The Friendly Cup is an online brand hawking eco-friendly wheat straw plastic products, including a Friendly Travel Mug for $34.99, a Friendly Water Bottle for $36.99, a Friendly Thermos Cup for $34.99, and some other products at similar price points. In short, they appear every bit the eco-friendly company with a forward-thinking eco-friendly technology. And that is how they lure you in.
I had a 12 oz Keep cup that was similarly priced, socially conscious, and withstood years of heavy use, including traveling to many countries with me. It's only gone because I lost it somewhere in my many travels. That's what I wanted out of The Friendly Cup. That is not what I got.
What Is The Friendly Cup Doing Right?
The cup, despite the many failings it has, is made of wheat straw and not plastic.
- One cup is pretty good to walk the dog with for 20 minutes
- It fits perfectly in my Doco hands-free dog leash belt
- Coffee didn't stain it, nor did red wine
- The outer shell makes it super holdable, even with really hot or cold liquid
- After getting the lid just so, it doesn't dribble really, even though it will spill through the top and still will dispense when in closed position
How Is The Friendly Cup A Scam?
If I'd finished writing my exposé in Medium about common internet scams, I may not have succumbed to this company's deceptive practices. It has all the hallmarks of an internet scam, and my experience is affirmed by the many reviews on Trustpilot, blog posts and Instagram comments, ergo this is not just a one-time incident. In fact, the scam is so common that a quick Google search would instantly blow its cover. Alas, not enough people (including myself) did even that much prior to purchasing, and thus the Friendly Cup is still scamming away.
The TL/ DR here is that it's far over-priced, and if it weren't mis-represented, I never would have bought this product at any price. Even though I use it, I still need another cup for the purposes intended that would encompass the use this cup gives me, so it was totally unnecessary.
1. The cup is faulty and poorly made
The #1 most important thing for a socially conscious company is that its products need to work just as well as, or better than, their equivalently-priced competitors. This is true whether the competitors are socially conscious or not; the product just has to work. And The Friendly Cup does not: It leaks, it doesn't seal, and it actually falls apart.
This isn't an isolated incident, as the other reviewers reported the same. The cup is actually three detachable pieces, which is not at all made clear: An inner cup, an outer shell that the cup sits in, and a lid that is supposed to screw on over the outer cup but doesn't do that very well. Seriously, like one bump in the car even in 'closed' got coffee everywhere through the top. You can actually sip it decently with it closed, I found out by accident. It also dribbles down the side if you tilt it too much when full as you drink because it doesn't seal when opened. For $27, I expected quality, not stains on my clothes.
2. The Friendly Cup is overpriced to the maximum
Imagine my horror when searching for wheat straw cups for this review and finding that these cups can be ordered in bulk for $1.80 each. Versions of this cup sold by reputable sellers are priced at half to a third of the price I paid, and that was after the 30% discount from the outrageous asking price. The identical cup was sold on Walmart.com for only $13.49. I am AGHAST.
3. The cup is comically tiny
It's 280ml in volume. As an American I admit I grazed over this and didn't exactly do the light conversion to really understand how tiny this is. It's about 9oz. So with the way it spills, you can basically fit two shots of espresso in it. Seriously, the coffee shops near my house don't even sell 8oz of drip coffee and at that it's hardly worth filling as a to-go cup from home, for me anyway. It literally fits less than my doggo coffee mug.
4. The cup is made in China
Alone this wouldn't sound alarm bells necessarily, as many Chinese companies have come a long way with quality and technology. As other countries emerge with laxer laws and lower-cost labor, China has moved ahead with other differentiating features for manufacture. The person chatting with me on Instagram led me to believe they were local (which I'm sure they would say is my problem).
The two main reasons that the cup shipping directly to me from China were alarming: Cost and environmental impact.
The too high cost
Considering the exorbitant cost and no other information, I expected the cup to be made in America. Seeing the Made in China and Chinese writing on the sticker after waiting two months for the product, I immediately suspected I was scammed and that's what sparked the investigation.
- The company presents itself as being local, including stating shipping times that even pre-COVID would be unreasonably short for shipping internationally from China.
- Local U.S. farmers were not the source of the wheat, which makes me gag even more at the high price tag. Wanting to help companies and farmers in your own community is very socially conscious, and the company took advantage of people that care, which makes them a pathetic company.
- After seeing how cheap other wheat straw cup competitors are, the cup is not only overpriced but ethically suspicious in terms of labor.
- Certainly the high price is not because of the high costs involved in making it. It reminds me of something you would find on Wish, but at least those deceptive products are dirt cheap.
The environmental impact is too high
The undercurrent of believing the product is local is not just goodwill for your own community, but minimal environmental impact as well. Purchasing this cup for less money from Walmart, you could safely assume that the cups had been shipped overseas in bulk, which is at least efficient and minimizes fuel expenditures on transit. But shipping cups over individually costs more because it's less efficient and thus more impact on the environment.