What Does the Manner Sticker Controversy Say About Coffee Material?

At Manner stores, reusable cups covered in layer upon layer of sticker labels have become a talking point. The labels were meant to help staff tell cup owners apart and make drinks to order, but some customers collect them like luggage tags, and the adhesive is hard to peel off and leaves residue.

The stickers can damage a cup's coating, and if they stay on over time they may breed bacteria and give off odors, raising hygiene questions. Prolonged contact with thermal paper material has also drawn attention. The episode highlights the balance between personal expression and public hygiene around reusable coffee material.

At Manner stores, many regulars’ reusable cups are covered in layer upon layer of sticker labels, looking just like suitcases covered in baggage tags—full of personality. These labels were originally a tool for staff to distinguish the needs of different cup owners, but they have unexpectedly become “trophies” that some consumers collect. However, the labels are hard to peel off, leave sticky residue, and may damage the cup’s coating. Over time, if not dealt with, they can even breed bacteria and give off odors, raising hygiene concerns. Whether prolonged contact with thermal paper material is healthy has also become a focus of discussion. This article will take you through this controversy over Manner reusable cup labels and explore the balance between personal expression and public hygiene.

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Anyone who has traveled by plane has probably noticed that staff stick baggage tags on passengers’ suitcases, and after landing, you can find your luggage by the information on the tag. As the number of flights increases, more and more tags are stuck on the suitcase, scattered in all kinds of arrangements, and unexpectedly a unique kind of coolness emerges.

This unique coolness is not only seen at airports; sometimes it also appears on Manner’s bar counter. Not long ago, a blogger shared on social media a reusable cup they saw while buying coffee at Manner. The cup was covered in sticker labels, wonderfully similar to a suitcase covered in baggage tags, and quite stylish.

Judging from the layers of sticker labels on the reusable cup, the owner should be a Manner regular. Because too many layers of labels have been applied, some have already lost their stickiness and dangle in the air, seemingly ready to fall off at the slightest touch.

Manner’s reusable cup service has always been popular with consumers, and many customers bring their own cups to the store to get coffee. This also means that when there are too many reusable cups, staff find it difficult to tell what each cup owner wants, so they often put labels on the reusable cups to distinguish them and make it easier for staff to make the coffee according to requirements.

However, these sticker labels receive mixed reviews from consumers. Some netizens complain that Manner’s labels are hard to peel off, and after forcing them off, they leave sticky glue and may even damage the coating or design on the cup. But some consumers carefully collect them one by one as a keepsake of their wonderful coffee memories.

Other consumers believe that the sticker labels on their reusable cups are a sign that they frequently visit Manner, and also a unique outer layer for the reusable cup, as distinctive and eye-catching as a suitcase covered in tags at the airport.

If viewed as decoration, these sticker labels are indeed special. But some netizens believe that if the layers upon layers of labels have been soaked by liquids such as milk and are not dealt with in time, over time they become a stinky coat and also a breeding ground for bacteria. If such a reusable cup is taken into the bar by a Manner staff member, other consumers who see it may worry whether the bacteria carried by the labels will contaminate the bar along with it.

In addition, this kind of sticker label is usually thermal printing paper. Although the owner of the reusable cup would not go so far as to eat the label, netizens believe that after prolonged contact with a cup covered in labels, then touching other food is still generally not very healthy.

Collecting sticker labels and leaving them on reusable cups is, for some consumers, like collecting trophies; watching a blank cup body gradually become covered with white labels brings a sense of satisfaction. But if the cup body is covered too much or too fully, labels that no longer stick should still be dealt with in time, to avoid the labels that represent memories breeding bacteria, and also to avoid giving other consumers a bad impression and concerns about hygiene during use.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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