Color-changing cups come to Starbucks Japan to promote LGBTQ diversity
Starbucks Japan is encouraging young customers to espresso themselves.
The coffeehouse chain is releasing a set of four color-changing cups to help promote LGBTQ diversity.
The eco-friendly, reusable cups — which come in yellow, pink, blue and green — are made with a material that’s sensitive to temperature. Which means that their colors will change when the drink is an iced caffè latte, a double skinny cappuccino, or a lukewarm dark roast.
Similar cups were first introduced in the U.S. and Canada in 2019 — quickly becoming an internet where-can-I-get-one obsession. Special designs were later introduced as a seasonal product, celebrating the hot days of summer, or the cozy nights of winter.
In Japan, the company is releasing the color-changing drinkware as a way to support LGBTQ youth.
“Without preconceived notions, assumptions, or prejudice, we warmly welcome and accept everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, role or employment status, disability, personal values, and want everyone to believe they are worthy,” the company said in a press release, according to SoraNews 24.
The set, which retails for 2,860 yen (around $26), also comes with colorful stickers that read “no filter,” as a nod to self-expression.
According to Hypebeast, Starbucks Japan will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Rainbow School Project,” an initiative that teaches high school students in Japan about inclusion and LGBTQ diversity.
The cups are expected to quickly sell out after they go on sale on April 19.
