Starbucks is helping people be sustainable again this year through its free reusable holiday cup giveaway, Red Cup Day.

The cups will be available Thursday with the purchase of any holiday drink. The event is happening at participating stores while supplies last. Cups will be received with orders that are placed in-store, at the drive-thru and online.

Gary Jacobson, Starbucks' creative director for this year's holiday campaign, said in a statement that Starbucks sees the free cups as small holiday gifts.

"We have always talked about the cups as little gifts, and we hope they feel like a festive present to our customers and store partners," Jacobson said.

The design this year will be similar to last year's design and features an all-red cup with white ornament shapes and the traditional green Starbucks logo on the front.

The cups are meant to help reduce the amount of plastic that is used for coffee drinks, whether customers use them at home or bring the cups back to a store to be filled with a new drink.

In March, Starbucks announced its commitment to reducing the amount of plastic used with its drinks. Starbucks said it would test which method is the most effective between either the "borrow-a-cup program" or customers bringing their own reusable cups. It plans to implement a permanent sustainable strategy soon.

"Our cup is ubiquitous, and we love that. But, it is also this ubiquitous symbol of a throwaway society," Michael Kobori, Starbucks' chief sustainability officer said at the time.