On the outside, they seem like simple ways to carry around water, but on the inside, they hold overly expensive trends and wasted money for college students.
Water bottles have taken the trend for years, but now it is getting too extreme. How many more water bottles are going to fill our pantries before we use the water bottle until it’s broken or dented?
I personally do not have one of the popular water bottles, and here is why.
I am not going to spend over $40 on a water bottle that is going to leak and dent within a couple of months.
The familiar and overly popular company Hydro Flask rose to fame in 2020 when turtles and plastic straws were the topics of that summer. TikTok and VSCO girls were all the rage with Hydro Flasks being a key factor in the VSCO girl aesthetic. Because of the influence from TikTok, Hydro Flask has a peak net worth of fourteen million dollars.
Hydro Flask has skyrocketed in popularity and sales, but it is now in the shadows of the popular brand, Stanley.
When someone buys a $50 Stanley bottle, they are not buying a Stanley to have a water bottle; they are buying a Stanley to join the trend. There are numerous Stanley duplicates out there that are overall better than a Stanley. Duplicates don’t leak and have better durability, but it doesn’t have the Stanley logo. This same phenomenon goes for Hydro Flask and other trendy water bottle brands.
When Hydro Flasks became popular, and everyone in every corner of the world had one, I was tempted to get one only because of social media.
TikTok users and influencers succumbed to the idea that in order to be cool, users needed this one specific water bottle, and the water bottle has changed every few months.
Because of the high popularity rate of the different brands of water bottles, prices go up. Buying a $50 water bottle every five months is not financially sustainable for any college student. Students should be spending the money on gas or rent and not on something that will not be used to the full extent.
Water bottles are different than any other trend. Most people need some sort of water bottle in their everyday lives to stay hydrated.
The combination of prices, metal variations and sizes gives anyone access to the perfect water bottle. This trend will never go away no matter the water bottle type or size.
The unnecessary purchases of new water bottles every six months are never going to go out of style. But, there is a way to make this trend more financially stable for a college student.
Emma Mortensen, a sophomore film major from Nebraska, said, “I wasn’t drinking as much water as I used to, so then I was like, it’s time to upgrade, and now I’m hydrated again.”
Mortensen upgraded her old water bottle to the brand Owala after not liking her previous one as much.
Buying a new water bottle when the water bottle isn’t serving its purpose anymore is better than getting one because of trend.
Students not only save money, but they save room in their pantries when they use water bottles for their true purpose. Old reusable water bottles sit in the pantries of many people who only get water bottles for trends.
From athletes to healthcare workers, water bottles will always be a necessity, and they will never go out of style. But, that doesn’t mean you should get a different one every time a new one becomes popular. Don’t fill your pantry with new water bottles. Use them until you need to buy another one.
