This is kind of embarrassing.

Recently, I was contacted by someone at The Friendly Cup, who claim to sell eco-friendly travel mugs and related products. Since their products looked nice, and they also offered me a discount, I decided to order two cups to try: Friendly Travel Mug (blue) and Friendly Thermos Cup (white).

I was naïve. It was a rip off.

This is what they say on their website:

The Friendly Cup is an eco-friendly wheat straw plastic that does not give off that nasty plastic sent or taste [sic!]. It is 100% biodegradable. Not only is this healthy for our environment, but it is also keeps the temperature hotter or colder for a longer period of time compared to regular plastic. The Friendly Cup allows you to drink your favorite coffee or tea in an eco-friendly cup while making the world a better place!

As someone who reads and writes for a living, I should have noticed that everything was not right. I didn’t. I was stupid.

I received the products separately from unknown Chinese addresses. There was no real packaging, just a funny, cheap plastic bag.

This is what the products were like:

• the overall appearance was cheap
• the drinking experience was unpleasant (Travel Mug: difficult to drink without getting air in the mouth; Thermos Cup: the threaded edge was not designed for drinking)
• the biggest problem: neither one was watertight (I spilled coffee all over my desk)
• in the dishwasher, the Travel Mug collected water between its two layers (ergo, no vacuum!)
• the prices ($ 34.99 for each) were ridiculous for the quality

Ikea has better quality for 5 bucks.

The lesson:
Don’t do what I did. Instead,
1) be careful with whom you trust online, and
2) (if I may suggest) stay away from this company.