Maudey Khalisha, Jakarta – On any given weekday, Jakarta's commuter trains echo with familiar reminders to safeguard wallets, phones and other valuables. But recent videos circulating on social media show that one more item has now joined the list: a tumbler.
The topic resurfaced after a viral incident involving a couple's complaint about their lost tumbler on a train, which unexpectedly sparked a nationwide conversation. What followed on TikTok was less about the incident itself and more about how society perceives tumblers today.
The refrain "just buy a new one" appeared repeatedly, highlighting a paradox at the heart of modern eco-friendly consumption. Hundreds of users responded by "flexing" their collections, color-coded rows of Corkcicles and Owalas, limited-edition Stanley cups and other premium branded bottles.
Experts noted that items once promoted to reduce waste are now collected, displayed and replaced at a pace that mirrors the very overconsumption they were meant to counter.
Amadea Nurhayyu, a Gen-Z office worker, admitted that she owns around 10 Starbucks tumblers "for display", while relying on her Corkcicle and Frank Green bottles for daily use. Their compact design, colors and one-liter capacity help her avoid single-use bottles.
Millennial journalist Andira said she also collects Starbucks tumblers from different cities and countries "because each place has its own unique design", but for everyday use she now prefers Stanley and Corkcicle.
Universitas Indonesia communication and digital marketing lecturer Harwindra Yoga traced the country's tumbler culture back to the early 2000s, long before today's premium brands emerged.
Even during Starbucks' early boom, he noted, fans chased city editions and seasonal releases, sometimes using jastip, or buying service, to secure designs from abroad.
"There's a difference between carrying a Starbucks tumbler from Solo and one from Reykjavik," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Harwindra added that social media amplified the trend, citing Stanley's viral "car fire moment" when a user's cup survived a vehicle fire and the brand replaced both the tumbler and the car, a stunt that cemented its premium status and became a "reason to believe" for many non-users to try the brand despite its high price.
Corkcicle, meanwhile, leans on co-branding with Disney, Marvel and Star Wars, tapping fandoms to fuel collectible behavior.
The strategy is similar, he said, as the brand engages its communities to stay relatable and encourage repeat purchases driven by merchandise-style collecting.
"This is consumerism at its peak. People are no longer buying based on what they need, but what they want," he said.
'Greenwashing'
What looks like an eco-friendly lifestyle may instead be a new form of overconsumption, one that Sumatra Institute of Technology industrial engineering lecturer Rinda Gusvita describes as "greenwashing at a personal level."
She noted that bringing a premium tumbler has become more about social validation than environmental advocacy, creating a contradiction in which the desire to own the latest or most luxurious model directly clashes with the environmental principle of consuming less.
"When ownership shifts from functionality and environmental concern toward symbolism and status, a gap forms between the values people display and their daily behavior," she said in a statement on Dec. 9.
This gap becomes especially visible during viral incidents, such as when a branded tumbler is lost on public transport. Online reactions often treat the item as a fashion accessory that can be easily replaced rather than a durable object meant to be used for years.
The environmental math is also far less forgiving than consumers assume. A tumbler, regardless of brand or price, must be used hundreds to thousands of times before its production footprint breaks even.
"If an expensive tumbler is used only ten times and then lost or kept as a collectible, it's actually more harmful than using ten single-use plastic bottles," Rinda noted.
Overconsumption, however, is not limited to what people buy, it's also about what they are given.
Journalist Andira, for example, says she has "countless" souvenir tumblers at home not because she buys them, but because she gets them from government and corporate events, along with the tote bags they come with.
"We rarely use them because we already have ones we bought ourselves that fit our needs. Over time, they pile up, and eventually I just give them away," she said to the Post on Monday.
For Ami, a housewife, her family regularly brings home souvenir tumblers from office events, community gatherings and corporate functions plus an endless rotation of tote bags from food delivery services and supermarket trips.
"These corporate souvenirs pile up at home to the point where each time my husband brings one home, I can already recognize each one by shape," she told the Post on Friday.
While Ami herself is a fan of tote bags, she only fancies the "cute ones" she buys herself or receives as meaningful gifts. Although she tries to reuse the tote bags by repurposing them for storage or for buying vegetables at the neighborhood stall, every takeout meal, delivery or supermarket trip adds yet another eco-branded bag in a new size, color or material, far more than she needs.
"In the end, the ones my family actually uses are the ones we personally chose, while the rest either pile up, are given away or, if the quality is bad, end up in the trash."