Comments on: Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day, & My Travel Mug

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:42:53 +0000

Hah! I found this post doing a search through your archives hoping to find a good suggestion for a travel mug as I just lost mine. Or my husband did. It depends on who you ask. I really like the idea of the glass jar and cozy, but I want to use it to make yogurt and I loved how the insulated mug made it so thick and yummy! I didn’t even have to strain it. For now I have added the insulated 20 oz Klean Kanteen (think of all the delicious yogurt smoothies!) to an Amazon Wishlist called “things I’m considering” and will try to sort out in the next few weeks before my birthday if I want it because it will actually be helpful or because I want to just buy a new thing.

By: peaJayFish

peaJayFish — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:38:07 +0000

Come to think of it, you are right. I was thinking I see a lot of Stainless ones, but they are probably plastic-lined. Nope, I wouldn’t buy one either. Hmmm…it is sad.
That is such a bummer about your glass mug. Great warning. Stupid rule. This is an example of where common sense has taken a back seat to unfounded fears and convenience. I can see them not wanting a bunch of glass beer bottles being brought in the park, but you were obviously being careful, and if you happened to have a most unfortunate breakage accident, haven’t they ever heard of a broom and dustpan? Sheesh! I would have been MAD!

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:00:08 +0000

Hi peaJayFish. I see a ton of travel mugs in thrift stores, too. Sadly, the are mostly plastic, probably abandoned by people who no longer trust drinking out of the stuff. It makes me sad that all this stuff will probably go to waste, but I wouldn’t buy a used plastic mug either.

The continuation of the story is that my glass ‘mug” was confiscated at a theme park because glass was not allowed in. So be careful where you try to take it.

By: peaJayFish

peaJayFish — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:11:25 +0000

Love your reuse here. I, like you, lose things terribly. If imitation is the sincerist form of flattery, consider yourself highly admired. When I lose my current stainless bottle (notice I did not say “if”), I will use a sock and jar combo until perhaps I will be lucky enough to find a used cozy like yours at a thrift store. I am not as adept at finding random useful things in the street like Michael is. He is a treasure himself, yes? (Love the video of you and him talking on the couch).
A word on Ask Pablo’s calculations: I understand them, but there is a factor left out: someone not using a reusable drinking vessel on a daily basis will likely be using a disposable one, perhaps even multiple times per day. Even if we assume said vessels only receive one use per day (an underestimation to be sure), it would only take one year (plus half a week into the next) to make that reusable vessel worthwhile to purchase. But these calculations only consider the manufacturing cost of these various vessels, not the cost and impact of the waste they contribute to (Not to mention the impact of the type of manufacturing needed to make each). And like you said, hopefully the someone who found your lost bottle was able to use it (or at least someone down the line). You didn’t throw it away to add to the local landfill (I would hate to think that we are so programmed to dispose of things that your very useful bottle was fed to a refuse receptacle). Used wisely, reusables are clearly preferred to reduce environmental impact over disposables, wisely being the key.
That said, your glass jar solution is brilliant. And for those afraid of breakage, I see plenty of travel mugs in the thrift stores I visit. (I have donated a few myself in the past – ugh! That’s the real problem – two people only need two travel mugs, not ten!)

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:40:30 +0000

My friend actually did that, too! Not the losing an iPod, but the jar thing. He used an old insulated sock and kept milk in it. I’m thinking of imitating, but with a jar that’s not quite so big.

By: Carrying Our Own Containers: Powerful Action or Pointless Inconvenience? | Fake Plastic Fish

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:46:12 +0000

[...] fun. I love mine. And I also love the travel mug that my co-worker bought me for my birthday when using a mason jar for a coffee mug wasn’t cutting it. But truly? Start with what you [...]

By: A Guest Post from Bath Terry of Fake Plastic Fish

A Guest Post from Bath Terry of Fake Plastic Fish — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:28:41 +0000

[...] few. But when it comes to travel mugs (which I need because I lost my stainless steel mug, and the glass jar I’ve been using is less than ideal) they all seem to be plastic. Maybe folks are realizing [...]

By: mugs

mugs — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:28:58 +0000

buy nothing day is such a good idea .-= mugs´s last blog ..Wake Up With Me =-.

By: A Deeper Green » Welcome to December, and an anti gift giving guide, sorta

A Deeper Green » Welcome to December, and an anti gift giving guide, sorta — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:27:34 +0000

[...] Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day & my travel mug, via fakeplasticfish [...]

By: Carol Beebe

Carol Beebe — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:55:00 +0000

The wool sweater sleeve would work better if you felted it to fit…

http://www.clevernesting.com/2009/08/felt-a-wool-sweater-tutorial/

you could even attach a handle.

I knit a “sock” for my Kleen Kanteen after a similar catastrophic failure to Meagan’s mine hit the floor in a shower room when it was less than a month old. Container store exchanged it cheerfully and I have had the new one for over a year. I think it is just an inherent weakness in the spun steel.