Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Whoa...wait a minute.

We were at starbucks a few weeks ago and saw this. Read the print on the box. Suspect? I think so.

15 comments:

ang design said...

have you asked starbucks exactly what they mean by recycled?? cunning marketing though..

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios said...

Don't worry. It is ok to lie to people and take advantage of their ignorance as long as it is in the name of selling overpriced goods.
I think I will start labeling all of my work this way since I usually mix some reclaim into new batches of clay.

Michael Mahan said...

Hey, that's an interesting idea. We potters often recycle scrap. What if you kept up with it and marketed it as "recycled clay"? It might be worth mentioning somewhere or sometime. So, maybe whoever makes these for Starbucks has a source of clay scrap from somewhere. I wonder if we could find out more details.

Kari Weaver said...

Anything to get folks to buy something that "saves" the environment, like bottled water in bottles made from biodegradeable corn. Duh.

Kari Weaver said...

The website says "20% post-consumer recycled clay". I wonder if it means fired or not?

Sue Pariseau Pottery said...

Oh - I see a new marketing campaign in my future. Kilns full of pieces from the reclaimed clay I've got stashed all over the studio. All made with environmentally friendly "recycled" clay.

Tracey Broome said...

You know, when I did the Raku workshop at Penland, Steven Forbes asked us not to use the slick colored papers in the ad sections of the newspapers for reduction because he said that clay was used to make it and it could alter the color of the glaze in reduction....
I don't know if he is still doing this, but a guy that used to be my boss is in charge of sourcing the items that Starbucks uses (like this cup)to promote themselves. If I didn't hate him, I could call and ask about that clay statement :)
I don't get it though.....

Jerry said...

Maybe not.

http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2010/04/30/what-s-old-is-new-made-in-japan-from-recycled-clay.aspx

Though I am not sure how the process would work. I would be curious to learn more about it.

Lori Buff said...

Does it have a coating on it? Some paper products are coated with a ceramic material to make them stronger and more water resistant. It's an idea for our leftover clay anyway.

collin said...

It's actually legit. The mugs are dry pressed from a recipe that is 90% grog 10% epoxy. ;)

brandon phillips said...

that's just crazy talk ;)

cindy shake said...

hmmmm -I just thought they were using old mugs customers left at the counter!

Tracey Broome said...

There's a reason they used to call me spacey tracey, I thought they meant the carton it is packaged in was recycled clay! duh! but.... maybe they did meant that!

Anonymous said...

Bit more info for anyone interested. Sounds like they pulverize the old dishes and use it as grog in new clay.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/climate/detail.php?id=132&sec=12

Anonymous said...

It is a company based in Japan who have a patented method for recycling fired clay.