EnviroHumanImpact

Be sure to read our update to this original review, regarding the safety of the epoxy lining of Sigg Water Bottles.  Also, we recently posted an article reviewing Nalgene Water bottles.

Product Reviewed: Sigg Water Bottle

Place of Purchase: Whole Foods

Purchase Price: $19.99 (for the 1 liter size — slightly cheaper for smaller bottles)

Product replaced: Nalgene and disposable bottles

Materials: Aluminum, brass, paint, plastic lid

Use: I use it to bottle my own water at my own source, filtered right into a brass-lined container.

Results:

Let’s talk about bottled water. No, not the thin plastic bottles of water you use and typically throw into a recycling bin (hopefully not the waste can). Also, we’re not talking about the hard plastic bottles made by such companies as Nalgene. We’re going to talk about Sigg water bottles, and why I use one. But first, on why I’m trying not to use the aforementioned plastic bottles:

Bottled water found in the thin plastic container typically has to be shipped many miles from the bottler to the consumer (sometimes overseas, as with such brands as Aqua Panna/San Pellegrino, from Italy, or Ty Nant, imported from Wales).

This takes much more gas or other fuel than if the water were pumped, cleaned, and piped to the consumer through the tap. One bottle a day would be 365 bottles shipped just for you every year, and who has just one in a day? One person might in fact drink a whole pallet worth of bottled water in just one year! Talk about a lot of energy use!

Thin plastic bottles are recyclable, but they don’t always make it to the recycling center, they’re expensive, and let’s face it: recycling something still takes energy to do. They have to ship the recyclables, sort them, shred, and manufacture them into something new.

Nalgene bottles, while reusable, are under very close suspicion for leaching Bisphenol A (BPA), which is considered toxic, into the water before you can get around to drinking it. Similar concerns about this chemical exist because of the use of plastic lining in canned goods. Who knows what chemicals might also be leaching from the thin plastic water bottles?

The Solution? Try a Sigg aluminum bottle, lined with brass (and an epoxy inner lining, which is coming under increasing scrutiny), which does not leach chemicals into your water. This Swiss manufacturer makes bottles that are durable and reusable. They offer many designs, so you’re sure to find something that fits your personal style.

Price: Well worth the $15 or $20 price. It pays for itself very quickly, and it’s healthier for you, meaning it helps protect against the potential ills of leached chemicals from plastics.

What of the logic that bottled water has been filtered better than that from the tap? Pwuh. An excuse, but not a reason. Filtering your water at home is gallon-for-gallon a cheaper alternative. Purchase a Pur or Brita filter and remove the crud that might get through to your tap. You can definitely taste the difference, and I recommend it for any food or water needs related to consumption. Besides, research shows it works to remove harmful contaminants!

Greener? You bet! This means you are no longer having hundreds of bottles shipped many miles for your convenience. You can quit using your Nalgene and wipe out concerns about leached chemicals. Bonus! Brass has recently been found to have anti-microbial properties. It’s cheaper, as well, so greener for the pocketbook (greener often means savings over time).

Drawback: Yes, you’re employing a healthier, greener (again, being green usually means being healthier) method for water on-the-go than if you were using thin or hard plastic bottles. With the Sigg, the plastic cap seems to be unnecessary. The manufacturer would do well to introduce a brass cap in order to eliminate the plastic contact with water altogether. I might be heading to a Home Depot to find a brass cap that fits.

Concerns about the epoxy resin and its components potentially being unhealthy or leaching toxic chemicals are valid, because Sigg refuses to release complete information about how it is made and of what material it is made.  However, just smelling the inside of a Nalgene bottle, the chemicals are evident and there is proof that it leaches into water and great reason to believe it causes disease.  The same cannot be said of the Sigg, and opening it up, you smell nothing at all, but not that that is prove one way or another about leaching.  Perhaps an even safer alternative to the Sigg is a stainless steel bottle.

Also, the paint for the bottle is rather close to the mouth of the bottle. How safe is the paint and what is the chance of it chipping off into one’s water as the water is consumed? While the paint has not seemed to have chipped off at all, I wish the manufacturer would put the paint further from the mouth of the bottle. Perhaps I will contact them to see what is in the paint and how durable it is.

And? Overall, Sigg bottles, while I have a couple of complaints, improve one’s envirohuman impact, make better financial sense, and reduce the chances of having unneeded, potentially toxic chemicals leached into drinking water.

Again, be sure to read our update to this original review, regarding the safety of the epoxy lining of Sigg Water Bottles.  Also, we recently posted an article reviewing Nalgene Water bottles.

EHI there! What kind of water bottle do you use? Tried a Sigg? Share your experience!

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