New Starbucks Green Cup: This is NOT the Red Cup

Published

November 1, 2016

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With one week until the US election, Starbucks has commissioned artist Shogo Ota to create a design for the new Green Cup. His design uses a single line to connect more than a hundred figures, from the coffee farmer, to a barista, to family, his threaded design represents shared humanity and connection. Starbucks created it to serve as a symbol for stitching people together as a united community.

Social media erupted over the news, as many believed that this is the annual Holiday Red Cup, and were not happy. Let’s clarify: this is not the red cup. The red cup will be coming out on November 10th, and has already leaked.

“THE GREEN CUP AND THE DESIGN REPRESENT THE CONNECTIONS STARBUCKS HAS AS A COMMUNITY WITH ITS PARTNERS (EMPLOYEES) AND CUSTOMERS. DURING A DIVISIVE TIME IN OUR COUNTRY, STARBUCKS WANTED TO CREATE A SYMBOL OF UNITY AS A REMINDER OF OUR SHARED VALUES, AND THE NEED TO BE GOOD TO EACH OTHER,” – HOWARD SCHULTZ, CHAIRMAN AND CEO.

.@Starbucks holiday drinks are back, but don’t expect a red cup: https://t.co/ciHNcy61Fl

— InStyle (@InStyle) November 2, 2016

Your favorite seasonal Starbucks drinks now come in a green cup featuring a mosaic of over a hundred people, drawn in one continuous stroke…

— GK:General Knowledge (@GkKnowledge) November 2, 2016

i am deeply upset and personally offended that tomorrow, red cup day, the most holy of all days, is now GREEN cup day? what the FUCK.

— ❄️ hi i’m mgn ❄️ (@hyz) November 1, 2016

Went to get my first Red Cup and it’s GREEN? WHAT? My gingerbread latte is instantly less festive. So mad @Starbucks. pic.twitter.com/tdrCrepfj2

— Meg Towner (@MegTowner) November 1, 2016

Thoroughly confused by the @Starbucks green cups…bring back my red-cup holiday cheer! #TeamRedCup

— Shana Wachowski (@slyons330) November 1, 2016

i am deeply upset and personally offended that tomorrow, red cup day, the most holy of all days, is now GREEN cup day? what the FUCK.

— ❄️ hi i’m mgn ❄️ (@hyz) November 1, 2016

Andrew Gibbs

Andrew Gibbs has been called an “innovator in the world of design” as the founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Dieline, founded in 2007. Andrew started Dieline Awards in 2009 to formally recognize the world’s best consumer product packaging design. The awards competition was recognized as a “global phenomenon” in its first year. In 2010, he founded Dieline Conference, an annual conference for creative professionals in the packaging design and branding industry. He now serves as Creative Director and Programming Partner for HOW Design Live, one of the largest annual gatherings of creatives in the world. In 2014, he became a faculty member at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA teaching Packaging Design. Andrew was previously named the Editor-in-Chief of HOW Design Magazine in 2015, making him the youngest editor of a design magazine ever. In 2018, Andrew became a Climate Reality Leader after training under Al Gore at the 2018 Climate Reality Corps. He joined A Plastic Planet, a U.K. based non-profit that is dedicated to dramatically reducing the amount of single use plastic used in the packaging industry. Andrew speaks and consults worldwide on the topics of packaging design and sustainable packaging.