英語の勉強(Bring your own cups and tumblers if you're a bit germophobic)

I often use cafes to study. I always drink from a mug there, and today I noticed that they give a discount if customers bring their own container for their beverages. I thought this was a great service, so I looked into it and found that TULLY'S COFFEE gives a 30-Japanese Yen discount when you bring your own mug, and Starbucks Coffee offers discounts of 22-Japanese Yen every day and 55-Japanese Yen on the 10th of each month.

I think they are very generous to offer such discounts, because it is really good for customers as well. I feel that even a 10‑yen discount would be enough. By bringing our own cups and tumblers, we can all enjoy drinks at a cafe in an eco‑friendly way, even if some of us are a little germophobic.

I often see many stylish young people, as well as mature ladies and gentlemen, drinking from disposable plastic or paper cups that cannot be recycled. I used to think they should use mugs, as the staff recommend, but now I suspect many of them are actually bringing their own cups to get the discount. That seems wiser and cooler to me than using fashionable disposable cups just to post their drinks on social media.

I really appreciate these coffee shops because they give me a comfortable place to concentrate on my studies. I would be even more grateful if they also offered organic, additive‑free soy milk, which is more ecological, and additive‑free snacks, such as plain almonds served on a small plate without individual packaging. For example, they could sell about 20 almonds for 200-300 Japanese Yen. I have read that eating around 20-25 almonds a day is good for our health. On top of that, if they used sustainable energy for their electricity, I would have absolutely no complaints.

If you often have drinks and food to go or at cafes or restaurants, we should choose what we drink and eat more carefully, for your health and for the earth. I try to avoid items with additives, sweeteners, or GMOs as much as possible, whether at cafes/restaurants or home, though I can't fully escape pesticides, so I've added some links below as a personal reminder.