Jamba Juice Essay

Since 1990 when Kirk Perron first founded Jamba Juice, the company has targeted fitness enthusiasts in an effort to create a drink for them that was nutritious and convenient. In many ways that dream has become realized, the Jamba Juice smoothies have become a staple for many recreational and serious fitness enthusiasts around the country. However, with the environmental sustainability movement beginning to gain steam, the smoothie company is being forced to reevaluate their business model, specifically the Styrofoam cup that has been utilized since the company’s inception.
Many different stakeholder groups have expressed opinions that either favorably or negatively view Styrofoam, but the positions taken by the owners, customers, and the

Society in general is more concerned with the lack of recyclable potential Styrofoam possesses and its harmful impact on ecosystems. Because of inherent negative side affects that Styrofoam presents, ten-year-old Mia Hansen and her mother created a petition on Change.org that secured more than 130,000 signatures of support. Not only does the public’s response to this petition indicate a unified position opposing the Styrofoam cup, but the Jamba Juice customers are opposed to the Styrofoam cups as well because of the health risks they pose. Some of the health risks that are posed by Styrofoam and the chemicals associated with it include skin, eye, and upper respiratory tract infection, central nervous system disruption, and minor kidney or blood effects. In 2011, polystyrene (the main chemical component of Styrofoam) was “...anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” These indisputably negative side effects presented by Styrofoam is the primary reason that consumers of Jamba Juice smoothies oppose the trademark white cups as vehemently as they