TLDR: Over the past 20 years, reusable water bottles have grown as a category, remained trendy and show no signs of slowing down. A shift towards sustainable lifestyles and the increase in social media usage have been the main contributing factors.
While the trendy brands, shapes and materials continue to change, one thing seems to remain constant (or at least since the mid-2000s): Water bottles remain a trendy item. But why water bottles?
A Brief History
As Amanda Mull for The Atlantic puts it,
“There’s a small amount of serenity in finding the right vessel and filling it with the right thing.”
Ain’t No Passing Craze
According to Globe News Wire,
“This trend is not merely a passing fad but a reflection of a deeper societal change towards sustainable living practices.”
Driven largely by environmentally conscious millennials and Gen Z consumers, reusable water bottles are the ultimate symbol of sustainability and self-expression. With different brands, shapes and colours to choose from, plus customizable additions like stickers or accessories, these items are carefully selected and adorned and carried around proudly. While the popular brands, styles and materials seem to change throughout the years, the “trend” appears to be anything but. Reusable water bottles are not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
From a purely environmental standpoint, of course, the adoption of reusable water bottles makes sense. There has been a continuously growing consumer awareness about sustainability and the harmful effects of single-use plastics, thus creating an increased demand for eco-friendly products. But it doesn’t explain the extreme popularity of a water bottle that costs upwards of $40 USD over a less expensive option that would serve the same function.
So what exactly is it about the reusable water bottle du jour that drives hordes of shoppers to Target for Valentine’s Day-themed Stanley cups or even winding up in custody for (allegedly) stealing them? Are they truly so superior in quality compared to their cheaper competitors? Well, according to Amanda Mull of The Atlantic,
“On the surface, water bottles as totems of consumer aspiration sound absurd: If you have access to water, you can drink it out of so many things that already exist in your home. But if you dig a little deeper, you find that these bottles sit at a crossroads of cultural and economic forces that shape Americans’ lives far beyond beverage choices.”
The Social Influence
According to the New Trier News,
“On social media, #emotionalsupportwaterbottles has garnered traction over the past few years, with 316.5 million views on TikTok as of January 2024.”
It’s clear that social media is an incredibly effective trend factory, and reusable water bottles are no exception. Brands like Hydo Flask and Stanley shot to fame and experienced huge increases in sales as a result of influencer promotion. It’s not surprising that the biggest contributors to the reusable water bottle
trends, Millennials and Gen Z, are also the biggest users of social media.
According to the Los Angeles Times High School Insider,
“In 2005, only five percent of people used social media, but now, 70% do—primarily Gen Z. The rise of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook has greatly influenced this trend.”
But it may not be enough to just have a reusable water bottle; you need to have the right one. And with the advent of social media, you don’t even need to leave your house to find out which is the hottest one of the moment and then hop on the bandwagon.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
These eye-opening figures show just how popular the category really is:
We would be remiss not to point out the irony in consumers constantly replacing an environmentally-friendly, reusable item in favour of the latest, trendiest version, and the brands that create them, perpetually pushing their newest, limited-edition models. While eco-friendliness may be a contributing factor, it’s nothing compared to the bottom line. So are we all just victims of mass consumerism masquerading as sustainability? Judging by the numbers, it would appear that new is always better. We’ll just patiently wait to see which new water bottle social media decides is the latest must-have.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/02/luxury-water-bottles/582595/
https://www.businessinsider.com/stanley-cups-versus-owala-water-bottles-2024-1
https://bevi.co/blog/owala-vs-stanley-best-stainless-steel-water-bottle/
https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2023/6324400/owala-freesip/
