通勤路上手握自带杯买咖啡，正成为徐州不少年轻人的生活新风尚、消费新常态

Brief (coffeeyo.com): In Xuzhou, young commuters have taken to buying their coffee in their own reusable cups — a small habit that saves them money, trims costs for cafés and cuts down on disposable waste. Carrying and washing the cup, though, is still enough to put plenty of people off.

Across Xuzhou, clutching a refillable cup on the morning commute has become a new fashion, and a new spending habit, among the city’s young people. Step into the district’s cafés, large and small, and single-use paper cups are no longer the default: matte insulated flasks, pared-back travel mugs and cartoon ceramic cups are everywhere. Bringing your own cup for coffee is fast becoming an everyday routine for local youngsters.

Behind this quiet trend lies a pragmatic, rational logic of saving. For anyone who treats a daily coffee as a necessity, a small discount on each cup adds up to a tidy sum over time. “I buy a latte almost every morning, and it saves me close to a hundred yuan a month,” says Zhou Heng, an office worker born after 1995, who has done the sums on his coffee spending.

The shift reflects a broader change in how young people think about what they drink. Where customers once happily paid a premium for elaborate packaging, atmosphere and a sense of occasion, value for money now comes first. Rather than pay extra for showy wrapping, they focus on the taste and quality of the drink itself. And a reusable cup asks no sacrifice of lifestyle: simply swapping the container reduces single-use waste in the most ordinary of purchases — plain, practical and low-fuss.

For brick-and-mortar cafés, encouraging reusable cups is no mere do-gooding marketing stunt; it is a hard-headed way to cut costs and hold on to regulars. “Paper cups, lids and straws are fixed consumables for a shop, and there is spoilage and waste in storing and using them,” one store manager admits. “When customers bring their own cups, it directly lowers what we spend on supplies and on running the place. And the people who keep bringing their own cups are mostly regulars, with higher repeat rates and stronger loyalty.” Cutting costs, keeping customers and greener operations all at once — the reusable-cup service has become a quietly important part of running a tight ship.

Still, plenty of practical hurdles stand in the way of making it universal. “On the commute or out shopping my bag is already full; lugging a cup around as well is a burden,” says local resident Zhang Jingyu, voicing a common complaint. Cleaning is an even bigger deterrent: “Coffee cups stain and hold odours so easily, and there is no time to wash them properly at work. It is a real hassle.” Details like these are why many customers still reach for the disposable cup.

Platforms and industry bodies are responding to those pain points. Meituan and Dianping have introduced a dedicated “supports reusable cups” tag for stores, with more than 17,000 beverage shops nationwide now offering discounts for bringing your own cup, so they are easier to find. In August this year, the Jiangsu Provincial Association for Circular Economy issued the Operational Specifications for Bring-Your-Own-Cup Services at Freshly Prepared Beverage Stores, setting out standards for hygiene, sanitising and service to make the practice both more consistent and more reassuring.

By Yu Yuezhang, Xuzhou Daily.

Reprint Note & Disclaimer

1. This article is reprinted from Chinese media for information and cultural exchange. The views expressed are those of the original author and do not necessarily reflect the position of coffeeyo.com.
2. All trademarks, brand names and logos mentioned belong to their respective owners.
3. For cooperation, reprint or correction requests, please contact coffeeyo.com.

Reprint Notice & Disclaimer

1. This article has been edited and compiled by China Coffee Network. The information and images therein come from public sources and the copyright belongs to the original author. This reprint is intended solely for information sharing within the coffee industry and does not represent the views of this website; all data and opinions are subject to the original article. Our thanks to the original author for creating and sharing it.
2. For matters concerning content licensing, attribution, copyright or otherwise, please contact us promptly and we will verify and cooperate in handling them as soon as possible. We also welcome coffee origins, brands and industry media to exchange ideas and contribute articles.
3. Contact China Coffee Network: Tel 400-0000-641 (+86-18288016826) | Email 405854472@qq.com | Address: Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province / Tieling, Liaoning Province