On the first day of 2008, I was waxing poetic about a brilliant new bathtub that conserves water. Now in the first days of spring, it seems another vessel has captured my attention.

This time it's a little smaller and has taken the form of a drinking cup from the brilliant minds behind Flatterware.

As I've mentioned before, sustainability is first and foremost about behavioral changes and this design elegantly addresses just that.

Bottled water blows. It is counterintuitive. Why would you purchase something that flows freely from a tap and through your purchase deepen your environmental footprint to include transportation, plastic, and then probably not be able to recycle the bottle once you're through with it? I'll admit, I've purchased bottled water ((gasp))....for me, it's usually a purchase born out of convenience. "I didn't bring my water bottle with me because my bag was stuffed" or "I brought a small purse with me," etc. Research has shown that convenience is a major motivator behind bottled water sales. It also carries over to people who purchase coffee in the mornings in paper cups because they don't want to lug their travel mugs around all day.

Well, excuses to buy tap water just got smaller. I purchased a flatterware cup last week for a mere five bucks and have brought it along in my tiny purse or in my stuffed school bag--and I haven't bought a single bottle of water since. The cup starts off folded up in a five inch disk that looks kinda like a hockey puck. A twist of the wrist pulls the lid off the top and a cup springs up from the bottom. You can fill the cup with hot or cold liquid (it's made from ABS plastic) and enjoy yourself. The walls of the cup are flexible (but not so much that you have flashbacks to Capri Sun shooting out of the straw and all over the cafeteria table) with the lip made from a harder plastic. Once you're done with your drink in a flatterware, push the cup down with the lid and twist it to lock--totally easy.

The reason I like this design so much is because it addresses a major underlying behavior behind bottled water drinking: carrying space. I hear there are other variations in the works that include baby bottles and other colors.

Get a flatterware cup here so we can raise our cups and toast our good sense.

Labels: consumer behavior, gadget, sarah, water