Just because an object was bought at a premium and carries some kind of eco-cred does not mean it isn’t actually part of the waste stream. Case in point:
Here we have what I just decided to call the Hippie Sippy. It is a sippy cup that, as you can see, is made from stainless steel so that little tykes–in this case, my little tyke–will not be slurping refreshments out of a plastic container.
I carry my own water around in a stainless bottle, so it makes sense to provide the same for my kid. Healthier, sturdier and less likely to break down or get a hole in it or be crushed underfoot–in short, one would hope, less wasteful.
This was a gift, so I don’t know what it cost, but obviously it was more than you’d pay for a basic all-plastic sippy.
After maybe six months of use, this thing (also sometimes called the Nosetrapper) has sprung a leak. There’s a plastic doodad under the lid that’s supposed to keep the water from flowing out when the cup is upside down. Now that has a split in it, so the Hippie Sippy is watering my purse, the car seat, the living room floor and every other environment into which it is carried.
It drives me crazy: Stuff that looks durable, but in fact isn’t made to last, and on which one little component fails, rendering the entire object obsolete. Do I live with the leak? Throw this one away? Buy another one? Isn’t there a saying that starts "Fool me twice"?