Boston, April 1, 2025 – Starbucks Corporation, the world’s largest coffee chain, has agreed to disclose more details on its transition to reusable cups and ensure the accuracy of its recycling labels. These commitments came in response to a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century, an environmentally responsible mutual fund, asking the company to address risks posed by its plastic waste.
“Single-use plastics cost the economy up to $120 billion every year, making plastic reduction a high priority issue for investors,” said Leslie Samuelrich, President of Green Century. “We applaud Starbucks for strengthening its efforts to reduce plastic pollution by using more reusable cups and only labeling plastic as recyclable if it is widely recycled in practice.”
Starbucks agreed to share actions and plans to increase adoption of reusable cups by early 2026, building on the company’s existing efforts to bring ceramic mugs back to stores as the default option and accept reusable cups for drive-thru and mobile orders in the U.S. and Canada. Starbucks has also agreed to internally assess customer-facing recyclability claims against the FTC Green Guides in 2025 and subsequently remove any misleading labels.
Reusable Packaging Cuts Plastic Pollution
Only 9% of plastic waste globally gets recycled, while every year approximately 33 billion pounds of plastic enters the marine environment. Tiny pieces called microplastics have been found in human bodies and linked to cancer, respiratory disorders and neurological symptoms.
Reusable packaging is widely accepted as one of the most effective ways to avoid plastic waste, reduce costs, and respond to changing consumer preferences: in a recent survey, 72% of respondents believe that companies should reduce their use of single-use plastic.
“Starbucks’ efforts to scale up reusable cups and ensure that its recycling labeling is accurate are important steps in the right direction,” said Frances Fairhead-Stanova, a shareholder advocate at Green Century. “We need more companies to follow Starbucks’ lead and cut plastic waste by investing in reuse systems.”
According to the FTC Green Guides, a product or package should only be marketed as recyclable if the necessary infrastructure exists to recycle it. Most plastics do not meet this standard, making plastic reduction and reuse systems key to alleviating the plastic pollution crisis.
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