# Tupperware inc files for bankruptcy 70s and 80s kids sob

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 19, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457 "2024-09-19T04:25:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/1 "2024-09-19T04:25:09Z")

</div>

Wow, this one brings back memories of playing Atari in the bedroom with the cousins while Mom and Aunts took turns having the parties. The snacks were the best! tho And yes, Aunt still has a lot of hers. LOL. Though I heard they quit the parties in the 90s, there was a Tupperware kiosk in our mall for a while, but it had some things like the cup sets and a book to order from.

> **[Tupperware party is over as brand files for bankruptcy with $700m debt](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tupperware-bankrupt-debt-container-b2614773.html)**
>
> Tupperware is sold in almost 100 countries and appeared on Queen Elizabeth II’s breakfast table

here’s some reactions

> **[Tupperware bankruptcy filing sparks hilarious reactions: ‘Mom just fell to...](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/tupperware-bankruptcy-containers-news-reactions-b2615289.html)**
>
> ‘I’m not even gonna lie, I thought Tupperware was just a broad term for food containers,’ one X user said

even in India where it was just as popular as it was in the us

> **[Tupperware's bankruptcy triggers memes as X users share memories of ‘forever...](https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/tupperware-bankruptcy-memes-x-users-share-memories-forever-dabbas-2602218-2024-09-18)**
>
> Users flooded social media with memes after Tupperware Brands Corp, the US-based giant behind those ever-reliable kitchen staples, declared bankruptcy.

even in India where it was just as popular as it was in the us

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/2 "2024-09-19T04:39:03Z")

</div>

One of the early episodes of Stranger Things showed the exact Tupperware pitcher that we had in the 80s. The one with the lid where you press a button on the top and it unseals, with a kinda radial accordion thing on the bottom of the lid. The color was the same hideous shade of… I dunno, an olive-tan.

Haven’t bought any Tupperware-adjacent items since the semi-disposable kind came out. The much thinner plastic doesn’t impact performance any. And I haven’t bought any of _those_ since I started going to food trucks more often and acquired a collection of sealable plastic containers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/3 "2024-09-19T04:39:17Z")

</div>

If you asked me yesterday, I would have guessed that Tupperware was either owned by some other larger corporation or else had just sold their name by this point.

I don’t doubt that they make/made a quality product but I also assume most people’s quality ceiling on storage containers is pretty low. With fewer people cooking full on meals at home these days, there’s less need for an array of storage containers and a set from Costco will do the trick. Heck, a set of “disposable” containers like Ziploc or Saran Wrap sells at the grocery store probably works for most people. Spending 10x more on a bowl to hold your leftover UberEats Chinese food is a whole lot of diminishing returns.

There’s a lot of stuff where you feel like it was made better in the Good Ole Days but now is made cheaply and just doesn’t measure up. Food storage containers isn’t one of those things though (at least for me); I’ve never looked at my $30 set of snap-lid storage containers and felt they were inadequate for the job and wished for a $100 set of Tupperware brand bowls.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/4 "2024-09-19T04:42:36Z")

</div>

Edith Bunker holds a Tupperware party: “I welcome you with open noses.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/5 "2024-09-19T04:49:45Z")

</div>

> [@Jophiel](#):
>
> Heck, a set of “disposable” containers like Ziploc or Saran Wrap sells at the grocery store probably works for most people.

Frankly, the “disposable” kind is superior. They nest perfectly without having to decrease in size. So they take up way less space.

I won’t forget that Pyrex bullshit, though.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/6 "2024-09-19T05:19:10Z")

</div>

I’m a 70’s kid, and I’m not crying. In fact I’m seriously glad that the, “party,” thing for all items that had parties is slowly dying.

Parties = getting as many friends as you can to come to your house, and buy crap they don’t/want/need/could get cheaper and more conveniently somewhere else. Then trying to get at least one of these friends to have her own, “party,” sucking in her friends and family, all so you can get “free” "discounted"crap.

A not complete list: tupperware, lb price, make-up, crystal and glassware, home decorating, adult toys edible underwear etc. I’ve been resentfully, invited and, “entertained,” at all of them, and probably missed some.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/7 "2024-09-19T05:21:46Z")

</div>

Tupperware didn’t start in the 70s. There’s kids going back to the 40s that will miss it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/8 "2024-09-19T05:23:51Z")

</div>

Yeah, my mom had some in the 60’s when I was little. I remember the tall and short drinking glasses made drinks taste weird.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/9 "2024-09-19T05:40:06Z")

</div>

I remember them being sticky all the time.

And the weird salt shaker that immediately lost its snap on lid thing.

I think there’s one of those weird green colored lettuce bowls in my kitchen. Couldn’t tell you where it came from.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/10 "2024-09-19T06:25:38Z")

</div>

> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> One of the early episodes of Stranger Things showed the exact Tupperware pitcher that we had in the 80s. The one with the lid where you press a button on the top and it unseals, with a kinda radial accordion thing on the bottom of the lid. The color was the same hideous shade of… I dunno, an olive-tan.

This one,

[![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Zg8AAOSwFThkd8-E/s-l1200.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Zg8AAOSwFThkd8-E/s-l1200.jpg)

I own two, grandma’s and mom’s. I’d call it _dark pre-Microsoft beige_.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/11 "2024-09-19T06:36:02Z")

</div>

That’s the one! So much Kool-Aid was dispensed from that pitcher.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/12 "2024-09-19T07:13:13Z")

</div>

Rubbermaid makes containers similar to Tupperware that are available in stores. Also, the old model of Tupperware parties depended on housewives who wanted to earn a little money, while today most women have jobs. If Tupperware had changed from MLM to regular retail marketing, they might have survived. As it is, I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/13 "2024-09-19T11:27:50Z")

</div>

> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> Haven’t bought any Tupperware-adjacent items since the semi-disposable kind came out. The much thinner plastic doesn’t impact performance any. And I haven’t bought any of _those_ since I started going to food trucks more often and acquired a collection of sealable plastic containers.

Also, some (by no means all) of the supposedly one-time use containers that supermarkets and delis package food items in are reusable and in some cases surprisingly sturdy, which probably undercuts the market for such things. They’re also surprisingly expensive. I thought they might cost the store something like a cent or two each, but even in large quantities they might run to 50 cents or even a dollar or more each.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/14 "2024-09-19T11:38:31Z")

</div>

Friends of ours have a Tupperware kit they carry in their car, always. If we go out to eat with them she runs out to the car for Tupperware to bring her leftovers home in.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/15 "2024-09-19T12:09:57Z")

</div>

> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Friends of ours have a Tupperware kit they carry in their car, always. If we go out to eat with them she runs out to the car for Tupperware to bring her leftovers home in.

That’s so insanely adorable and prepared!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/16 "2024-09-19T12:18:25Z")

</div>

They are a cool couple.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/17 "2024-09-19T13:13:35Z")

</div>

I’ve wondered how Rubbermaid could make the same plastic containers at such a cheaper price.

My favorite Tupperware item is the sugar bowl. I grew up seeing it on my relatives dining table. [I still have mine](https://hautejuice.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/vintage-yellow-tupperware-sugar-bowl-and-creamer/).

I also have the Canister set in Orange.

Did any Department Stores start selling Tupperware? Is it still sold by dealers at parties?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/18 "2024-09-19T13:22:56Z")

</div>

We had a lot of Tupperware as a kid. I never loved it. I now exclusively use takeout food containers. The “bowls” (tubs?) come in 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 cup sizes and they all stack and they all use the same lid! And they are much easier to clean than tupperware. I also like the “one dinner” trays although they, annoyingly, come in all sorts of minor variations and the lids aren’t interchangeable.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/19 "2024-09-19T13:49:03Z")

</div>

> [@nightshadea](#):
>
> Though I heard they quit the parties in the 90s,

They actually didn’t ever stop the parties, although they became way less common than they used to be. They always had “brochure parties” where the hostess gave people brochures and took orders. And they introduced “online parties” where the “hostess” got a special online link so she could get credit for the sales from her “party” but I’m sure those didn’t work as well as in person parties. The last online party I was “invited” to , I bought one item, my sister bought one item - and that was it. I definitely would have bought more than that at an in-person party.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457/20 "2024-09-19T14:19:07Z")

</div>

Tangential Straight Dope column by Cecil:

> **[Can Tupperware cause botulism?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343631/can-tupperware-cause-botulism)**

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tupperware-inc-files-for-bankruptcy-70s-and-80s-kids-sob/1007457.md?page=2)
