About
Our Story.
Here it goes: It started with two people in Vancouver, BC. My boyfriend and I were starting to educate ourselves more and more on the global waste problem and reflect internally on changes we could make in day-to-day life. The goal was to stop accepting the norm, and instead to work towards replacing single-use items with reusable ones and avoid overconsumption. In 2018, we almost gave up bubble tea because the single-use plastic packaging it comes in wasn't worth it.
We realized that reusable options in the bubble tea industry were unheard of and hard to find – so we created our own. Back in the early stages, whenever we brought our homemade Reusable BBT Cups to use at various locations, the bobaristas often had to ask their manager if it was alright for them to accommodate our request to have our drinks made in our own Cups. We were so glad to hear it was never a problem. The most common questions we got asked was, “how big is this Cup?” and “where can I get one?”
We were making a splash in both our local and international communities with our innovative solution to replace the plastic crisis in the bubble tea industry.
Our customers have proven to the world that we are willing to carry our own cup. We have worked with municipal governments looking to encourage sustainability and also inspired numerous bubble tea stores to offer a bring-your-own-cup discount. We are also a Top 5 Best Innovation Finalist for the 2020 Small Business BC Awards. Each one of our customers, partners, and supporters are helping make reusables the norm once again. Join us, and enjoy waste-free bubble tea!
- Carrie & Derek
Our Company.
Our mission is to reduce consumption of single-use plastics. This mindset goes into everything we do. We started out package-free, offering in-person sales, and asked all customers to bring their own shopping bag. There were no business cards, no coupons, no stickers, no boxes, none of that fancy branding stuff because we don't believe it necessary. In a refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle mindset, we wrote care instructions using existing pens and scrap paper from our household that we've hoarded for years.
As business grew, we adapted to meet demand but stayed true to our values. Despite our products going viral on the Internet, we didn't offer shipping at first because we refuse to use bubble wrap to protect our glass bubble tea cups and instead spent the time trialling other options. We now offer shipping completely plastic-free, and even choose paper packing tape.
We've also had to grow out of our house. When we were drilling lids at home, we realized we were creating waste and causing muscle soreness from using manual machines every day until midnight. And thus, we created product molds in collaboration with specialty manufacturers in China and the USA. During the production and importation stages, we influence our manufacturers to use as little packaging as possible, and for it to be made from paper or natural fibres only. When the parts arrive, our small team assembles your unique order in Canada. As each order is made-to-order, please allow us up to 7 business days to process and assemble your order.
Thank you again for believing in our vision for a single-use plastic-free future!
In the News
Farm - Sustainable Home Goods You Want In Your House
CBC Radio - On the Coast with Gloria Macarenko: Going green with bubble tea cups
Daily Hive Vancouver - Reusable bubble tea cup makes the popular dessert drink eco-friendly
Canada's National Observer - How to make your bubble tea sustainable
Small Business BC - Announcing Your Top 5 Finalists for the 2020 Small Business BC Awards
Noms Magazine - The Reusable Cup Aimed At Fixing The Massive Plastic Waste From Bubble Tea