Typical paper cups are not made from recycled paper. Instead, most cups are made using 100% bleached virgin paperboard due to FDA regulations and recycled paper’s lack of durability to contain liquid. Therefore, paper cups require a staggering amount of paper to construct a structure that is both FDA satisfactory and liquid-resistant. Considering, people in the U.S use 23 billion paper coffee cups a year and to make that many cups, 9.4 million trees and 363 million gallons of water are needed, paper cups better not be used.

Despite these environmental downfalls, paper cups are continuously used for their convenience. Carrying reusable cups can be a nuisance and these cups can take up a lot of space. On the other hand, Leaf cup provides a same structure and convenience as conventional paper cups, using a thin polyethylene paper, while significantly reducing waste. An user can easily carry this thin and light Leaf cup made of recycled cardboard paper that uses technique of honeycomb, which enables the cup to expand to form a cup, and starbucks only need to provide the polyethylene paper of a whole cup. Leaf-cup demonstrates a new realistic and convenient way to reduce paper waste and save trees without significantly altering a user’s behavior or habit.

Also, Leaf-cup further contributes in reducing the paper waste by eliminating the need for extra sleeve.

Leaf cup can be expanded to form a cup. Industrial Velcro attached to each end is hooked to sustain the shape. Industrial Velcro is easy to use yet strong enough that a two-inch square piece can support a 175 pounds person, and therefore definitely strong enough to provide hold a cup of liquid.