KOR One Hydration Vessels (shown above)

A recent piece from my local news site features this idea of reusing a disposable plastic water bottle over and over and the advice came down hard on the side of don’t do it. An expert from the The Oregon Environmental Council noted that there are two major reasons why you should not reuse disposable single use water bottles – bacteria and polyethylene terephthalate.

Those disposable water bottles are tough to clean properly and add to that all the ridges and indentations and you’re not really going to get the water bottle clean. You shouldn’t put disposable water bottles in the dishwasher and your hand can fit inside one, so bacteria is a likely problem. Secondly, these water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate which can degrade and leach phthalates into your once clean drinking water. Phthalates can disrupt your hormones and the expert from the The Oregon Environmental Council further notes that phthalates have been linked to various health problems, “Including women giving birth to boys with small genitalia and undescended testes.”

If you refill a water bottle once or twice it surely won’t kill you, but the healthier and greener choice is to choose a reusable bottle made from eco-friendly, non-toxic materials. I personally LOVE my Klean Kanteen, but there are plenty of other amazing reusable water bottle choices out there – why use plastic? Listed below are some non-toxic, BPA, reusable water bottle options…

• KOR One Hydration Vessels
• US Canteen
• FOF Bottles Stainless Steel Water Bottles
• CamelBak Better Bottles
• Love Bottle Reusable Glass Water Bottle
• REI Bullet Bottle
• EarthLust

Post from: Blisstree

Refilling Plastic Water Bottle Not Safe

The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, is interesting since up until now, all reproductive / BPA studies have been conducted with mice or rats. This new research actually involved human males. BPA is a toxic issue and one that’s hard to beat. It’s found commonly in thousands of consumer products from dishes to baby bottles to canned foods to plastic water bottles and the Post relates that BPA has been, “Detected in the urine of 93 percent of the U.S. population.” Furthermore, it could be easier then you think to build up BPA in your body. As Treehugger reported “Drinking from a polycarbonate bottle for just one week can increase the amount of BPA in your body by nearly 70 percent.”

Researchers studied 634 male workers at four factories in China who were exposed to elevated levels of BPA. Over the five year study, men handling BPA were four times as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and seven times as likely to have difficulty with ejaculation.

BPA has always been controversial with some, like SIGG claiming it’s not that big a deal and others working to ban BPA altogether. However, the main problem is that long-term studies on humans haven’t been conducted so if it’s bad or not, we can’t be sure. As this new study points out, things aren’t looking up (literally) for men who ingest too much BPA.

If you’re a guy and you like your bedroom time, I’d highly suggest finding a safer water bottle, one made of stainless steel and banning BPA laden plastics from your kitchen.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

BPA Linked to Male Sexual Dysfunction

Skip Hop makes some of the most adorable BPA-free feeding gear in town. Their Palette Plate and Mate – stay put plate are safe, non-toxic, and way too much fun.

The complete BPA-free feeding set from Thinkbaby – I love the Thinkbaby set because it comes with every little thing you need to feed a baby and older kids too.

Boon makes so many cool BPA-free feeding products that it’s hard to know where to start. They’ve got snack balls, many utensils, catch bowls, toddler cups, and more. All of it non-toxic and BA free.

Post from: Blisstree

BPA in baby food dishes

The CamelBak Better Bottle line may be one solution. The Better Bottle is made from a new copolyester polymer called Tritan, made by Eastman. This material offers the same plastic qualities but is 100% BPA free according to CamelBak. Better Bottle Caps are made of Polypropylene – for toughness and sealing performance. The Big Bite Valve on the bottle is made of Medical-Grade non-toxic Silicone – for long life and taste-free performance.

These bottles also come in various styles, sizes, and color choices, along with varying lids to suit your needs. There’s also a kid’s version, made with the same BPA free materials (see below).

Visit CamelBak to learn more.

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CamelBak Better Bottles

Disposable plastic water bottles are not a good choice!

That said you still need a water bottle correct? Yup. Plastic water bottles are still no good; cost a lot of money, are made of plastic containing icky chemicals, and create an untold of amount of non-recycled trash. No worries though; SIGG water bottles are so not the only players in reusable water bottle town.

Basically when it comes to reusable water bottles you have some various choices:

• Aluminum water bottles – Aluminum is lightweight and usually bottles made of this are made of a single piece of aluminum. The downside is that aluminum bottles are almost always lined, and as we’ve seen, not always safely lined. Studies are not clear regarding if it could be a danger to drink from an unlined aluminum bottle (i.e. if the metal leeches into your water) and many people think aluminum imparts a bad taste into your water. In my opinion, stainless steel is a better choice.
• Stainless steel water bottles – Is safe enough to drink from without a liner; stainless steel naturally will never leech chemicals into your water, keeps your water cold, and is a tough material – i.e. won’t easily crack or break. This is my favorite type of water bottle and my Klean Kanteen, a stainless steel bottle, has worked well for a long time. Some people think that stainless steel will flavor your water with an odd taste, but I’ve never had this issue.
• Safe plastic water bottles – Plastic reusable bottles have many issues – one, many of these bottles will leech chemicals, they don’t tend to keep drinks cold, and also some are not as easily recycled. Safe plastic means not made out of polycarbonate; a plastic material you want to avoid because it’s been shown to leech BPA. You want to look for a non-leaching HDPE or LDPE, BPA free plastic bottle that you will actually recycle when you’re done with it. It’s tough to find a decent and safe plastic water bottle though, overall I’d go with stainless steel.
• Glass water bottles – Glass of course is breakable – not great for active people unless you get one with a holder. Perfect for around the house drinks though; totally safe and totally recyclable. There’s also a few glass-like water bottles, like the New Wave Enviro Water Bottles Made From Eastar Resin; but honestly, I haven’t researched these enough to say if it’s a good choice or not.

As of right now your safest and easiest choice is to choose 100% stainless steel. You won’t have liner issues, plastic issues, and you’ll have cool water. Coming up we’ll look at some various water bottle choices that aren’t SIGG.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Giving up on SIGG – which bottle to choose

1. Most greenies love SIGG it’s a valuable water bottle option when compared to disposable plastic bottles. In fact, I have written about them a lot.
2. Back in 2007 SIGG’s CEO noted that SIGG bottles were BPA trace free.
3. Fast forward to August 2009 and now SIGG’s CEO (yeah the same guy, Steve Wasik) is all, well, the older bottles DO have BPA, but no worries.
4. Let the drama begin.

Now, I already posted about this, my friend posted about this, and as to not rehash the topic over and over here are some useful links:

• Does SIGG Owe Consumers New BPA-Free Water Bottles? – I say yes.
• My pal Peggy a long time SIGG advocate is super peeved. Read her views in SIGG Bottles Had BPA Before August 2008 and here at Blisstree as well.
• Here’s SIGG’s letter from August 2009 noting yup we’ve got a BPA issue.
• Treehugger’s take: SIGG Update: Did We Get It Right?

I’ll end with this. Shame on SIGG, like green advocates don’t already have to defend green products enough. Thanks for making it this much harder.

[image via my pal Peggy]

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Way to go with the BPA SIGG!

Image: Blueq.com

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Steel water bottles

Wide mouths may seem like no news at all, but the benefits of wide mouth bottles are actually many…

• Makes your bottle SO much easier to clean.
• Allows for nice frosty ice cubes to be easily inserted into said bottle.
• The SIGG wide mouths still include a small top for drinking.
• Useful for sharing – i.e. quick pouring into reusable cups at a picnic or other event.
  

As per other SIGG bottles, the wide mouths are extrusion pressed from a single puck of Aluminum in Switzerland, feature the same non-toxic liner, are BPA FREE, and of course save you money on bottled water while saving the planet from overstuffed plastic landfills.

Shown above:

• SIGG Wide Mouth Silver 1.L
• SIGG Wide Mouth “RED” – (Electric Pink) 1.L
• SIGG Wide Mouth Black 1.L

Learn more about earth-friendly reusable water bottles.

• Benefits of Reusable Water Bottles
• Eco-Rules for Summer Beverages
• Green Your Drinking Water

Do you have your reusable bottle for summer yet?

Post from: Blisstree

NEW SIGG Wide Mouth Bottles!

SIGG offers fun water bottles

WHY NOT BUY BOTTLED WATER?:

• Drinking Tap water is way more eco-friendly than bottled.
• While plastic water bottles ARE recyclable, it doesn’t mean folks are doing their job. According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), 8 out of 10 plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or end up in a landfill.
• Plastic water bottles are made from non-renewable resources; the Earth Policy Institute says it takes about 15 million barrels of oil per year to create enough bottles to meet demand.
• The making of plastic bottles releases icky junk into out air, soil, and water supply. Some can even leach chemicals into your water.
• In costly news, bottled water is costly. Especially when you can simply drink tap water.
• See all the problems with bottled water.

SIGG offers pretty water bottles

Now is the perfect time to get your very own reusable water bottle and to lower your disposables footprint. In honor of Earth Day SIGG has teamed up with their pals at 1% For The Planet. SIGG already contributes 1% of global sales to environmental causes, but with this new deal, they’ll also donate an additional $1 for every bottle sold on their site using a special discount code.

Just enter the code SIGGEARTH at checkout and get an extra $5 off of your order. That’s $1 extra for the planet and $5 off for you!

If you can’t find a SIGG bottle that screams “MINE” check out some other options: The Best Looking Reusable Water Bottles on the Planet.

SIGG offers kid water bottles

You can also check out some reviews:

Green Product Review: SIGG Water Bottle

Green Product Review: Klean Kanteen Water Bottle

So, are you using a reusable water bottle?

[images via SIGG]

Post from: Blisstree

Benefits of Reusable Water Bottles + Sale!

While the bottles may be tough on the outside, the inside is just as tough with a liner made of a proprietary coating.  You can carry water, fruit juice, alcohol, nearly any potable beverage, and it won’t harm the bottle liner.  Nor will your cranberry juice today taste like the cola you splurged on yesterday.  There are no lingering smells or tastes from previous beverages.

SIGG is an ecologically-friendly company, and the bottles are 100% recyclable.  Since the bottles are so durable, however, it’s going to take a long time before they are ready to be recycled.  The company is also a member of 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that commit 1% of all sales to environmental causes.

Using a SIGG is not just about environmentally friendly practicality.  With over 100 eye-catching designs, provided by artists around the world, new styles are introduce every year.  The leak-proof caps are interchangeable, so you can pair up your favorite bottle with your favorite cap (screw top and sports cap available) for a completely individual look.  So fashionable are the SIGG designs, they have been added to the permanent design collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

You’ll see SIGG bottles strapped to the backpacks of hikers, stowed in the carry on bag of a frequent flyer, and popped into the tote bag of busy women on the go.  With so many fun and fashionable designs to choose from, there’s sure to be one to appeal to your sense of practicality. . . or whimsy!

SIGG bottles are priced around $20-30, and can be purchased online or at your local outdoor equipment store.

Photo credit:  SIGG

Post from: Blisstree

Take Your Water Along in a SIGG