Ever wonder how paper cups don't simply absorb your drink like a piece of paper would? Disposable coffee cups from chains like Starbucks have an inner coating of polyethylene that helps insulate the liquid inside, but prevents them from being recycled. You may not think about it often, but every time you throw something away, it has to go somewhere. Approximately 50 billion coffee cups go into the trash every year, a staggering amount! It's really easy to do your part and provide a reusable cup when purchasing a beverage, especially with the great choices below!

See the entire list of travel drinkware companies

A note about materials: double-walled stainless steel cups are good at insulating (keeping hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold), but are not dishwasher-safe, and have to be hand-cleaned. This is generally very easy to do, but worth noting.

Recommendations

Best companies for the environment

Both Kleen Kanteen and MiiR are B-Corporations and members of both 1% For The Planet and Climate Neutral. This means ordering a travel mug from them has even more of a positive environmental impact than from other companies, since these companies have pledged to offset their carbon emissions and donate money to environmental causes.

KeepCup is another very good option, and is both a B-Corporation and a member of 1% For The Planet.

I am also a fan of JOCO Cups, which funds seabins to help pick up trash from the ocean.

Best designs

The fellow Carter Everywhere Mug has a great look to it, as do the mugs created by Frank Green. Both companies incorporate a ceramic lining on the interior, which they claim helps preserve the coffee flavor even better than other materials.

Ello also has a bunch of various designs that are interesting an different from what I've seen elsewhere.

Ecoffee Cup has a bunch of really cool designs for their cups as well!