Red Solo cups have become a symbol of American parties, especially on college campuses nationwide, but two Net Impact club members from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School have found a better use for them. 

Deanna MacCormac and Lisa Dunleavy, rising seniors and business majors at UNC Kenan-Flagler, were inspired by their campus Net Impact Club to find an environmentally friendly alternative to the ubiquitous red Solo cups. After being introduced to three other students who were also trying to spark change by spreading awareness on campus sexual assault, they aligned with the idea to replace the traditional party cups with environmentally friendly cups emblazoned with an awareness message. 

Launched last Spring their innovative project has grown into a campus-wide business and now its founders are preparing for even greater impact by beginning to think about expanding beyond their school. In the meantime, they’re getting ready for their first full year operating at UNC. 

You may be wondering, how did they accomplish this? Well, they teamed up and founded Carolina Conscious as a campus club. Then they embarked on designing the cups, found a way to mass-produce the cups, and thus the business was born. In the last month of school, Carolina Conscious sold 20,000 cups. 

“It got too big for us not to do it,” MacCormac says. “We’re trying to encourage a culture shift. Carolina Conscious is helping people do their part, without them having to take a very big step themselves.”

For the Environment:

Carolina Conscious cups are made of corn-based bioplastic that can decompose in 50 days. They order the cups in bulk and sell them in smaller numbers to groups throwing parties on campus. This is important because traditional red Solo cups last hundreds of years in landfills without decaying. 

Against Sexual Assault:

The logo was designed to direct party-goers to the Carolina Conscious website, which provides data specific to their college that was published in 2015 by the Association of American Universities’ Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct. Some of the most shocking data from the report shows that one in four female undergraduates, and one in 15 male undergraduates, have been raped or sexually assaulted. All the more reason for a greater awareness of sexual assault. The site also provides advice on how to have an honest conversation about sexual consent. 

The Carolina Conscious website states “We need to make strides to end sexual violence at UNC. Learn about the issue, become more than a bystander and make a conscious choice to improve our campus culture.”

By advocating social and environmental change on their campus, these Net Impact Club members are taking responsible parting to a whole new level.