The American layperson might not recognize this object, but in Sweden, it’s an icon. This collapsible Fold-A-Cup was designed in 1979 by Wildo, a Swedish outdoor products brand:
“This small cup is ideal for saving space in your pack. With 250ml capacity, 25g weight and a folded height of 3cm this is perfect for lightweight use.”
45 years later it’s still in production, with one alteration: It’s now made from a 50% plant-based TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), as opposed to in the ’70s, when it was purely petroleum-based. “Since 2016,” the company writes, “we have worked to find alternatives to [fossil-fuel-based] raw materials without letting the end result of a good product be compromised.”
There’s also a larger 600mL size, the Fold-A-Cup Big. (The original-size model can be nested within it.)
Swedish design association Svensk Form has classified the Fold-A-Cup as a work of art, conferring copyright protection.
