That’s the premise behind Pauline Love’s Cupcoats — a sleeve that makes drinking coffee and other beverages not only environmentally guilt-free, but expresses your individuality at the same time.
Like many product ideas, it came to Love during a eureka moment.
“I was so tired of getting the paper ones all the time,” she recalled. “They were piling up in my car and eventually getting thrown in the garbage. So I thought to myself, ‘Hmm, I could come up with a better one.’”
Drawing upon her experience and contacts in the fashion industry, Love got a seamstress to stitch together a few sleeves from leftover fabric, and began selling them to friends and family. Sales grew from word-of-mouth.
Two years later, Cupcoats have taken off to such a degree, they’re now manufactured in a Toronto factory and sold across North America.
“In the beginning it was just a part-time job. Now, I’ve quit the fashion business and (am) devoting all of my time to Cupcoats Expression,” she said.
Well, not quite. The 10-year Mississauga resident utilizes her fashion sense to continuously create new designs. So far, she’s come up with several hundred, refreshing the styles every four to six weeks. At any one time, some 60 are offered.
Their uniqueness appeals to fashionistas.
“Some people even use Cupcoats as an accessory to go with the outfit they’re wearing,” she said.
Guys aren’t left out. Their sleeves are emblazoned with bold stripes and solid colours. One with a blue maple leaf is particularly popular with Toronto Maple Leafs fans.
Love is most proud, however, of being environmentally conscious. Most cup covers, she notes, even though they're usually made out of recycled paper or paper products, are still wasted and thrown away by the thousands daily.
With a Cupcoat, instead of throwing it away, you wash it, reuse it, and recycle it. The insulated sleeves are made out of recycled material such as jute, cotton, hemp and bamboo.
“Just one Cupcoat can help divert three to five pounds of garbage from landfills per person,” Love said. “With hundreds of millions of beverages sold each month the waste adds up.”
The cup holders, which fit most 12-, 16- and 20-oz. beverage cups, retail for $7.50 and up, and are available at selected coffee shops and at www.cupcoats.ca.
jchin@mississauga.net
