Why I'll Swig From My Sigg No More
After I finished my talk about the hazards of bisphenol A at Powell's City of Books in Portland, Oregon last week, I immediately reached beneath the podium and took a swig from my reusable Sigg water bottle.
The polite applause subsided, and one of the first to ask questions was a middle-aged man in the front row. "What's that blue thing you're drinking from? Does it have BPA in it?" As it turns out, the good man's questions require an answer far more nuanced than the one I gave him the other night.
If you've not heard, BPA is a chemical used for making polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and sippy cups. It's also a material in the resin linings that coat metal food cans (think soup, beans and the fruits and veggies in your pantry) and beverage containers, (think Coke, Pepsi and all the brands that wish they were).
No one, not even BPA manufacturers, disputes that BPA, which mimics the hormone estrogen, leaches from polycarbonate containers and metal-can linings into what we eat and drink. So, in light of dozens of independent, peer-reveiwed laboratory studies that show BPA causes troubling effects, and that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found BPA in nine out of 10 Americans, the Food and Drug Administration has promised a new safety assessment of BPA by Nov. 30.
In the meantime, Connecticut and Michigan, the city of Chicago, three counties in New York and the entire country of Canada have banned BPA in certain products intended for children. Nearly two dozen jurisdictions -- including the U.S. Congress -- are currently considering bans.
Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. So I got rid of my reusable polycarbonate plastic water bottle three years ago as I was researching my book, The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being (North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
I learned how stacks of peer-reviewed studies plausibly link BPA to infertility, prostate and breast cancers, a decline in semen quality, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. And I saw chemical manufacturers using tricks straight out of Big Tobacco's playbook in an attempt to downplay the hazards of BPA.
When I purchased a new reusable water container, I chose an aluminum Sigg bottle festooned in a cheery, blue-plaid pattern. Any concern that the shiny coppery-bronze interiors of Sigg bottles might contain and leach BPA was allayed by the company's assurances that its "proprietary" lining was "totally inert and imparts absolutely no chemicals into the beverage."
Soon, my editor, my agent, my friends and my family were sipping from colorful Siggs, too.
So imagine my outrage when I learned last Friday that the closely guarded secret ingredients of the lining inside all Sigg bottles made before August 2008 contain traces of BPA.
Sigg posted the information on its web site along with an announcement about its new BPA-free lining, which Sigg said has been in development since 2006 at a cost of $1 million. To reassure consumers like me who adapted early to Sigg bottles, the company stated that its BPA-containing bottles "were thoroughly and regularly tested...and all tests revealed absolutely no migration or leaching of BPA or any other substance."
This is greenwashing at its worst. Sigg rode a wave of growing concerns about BPA, selling lot after lot of its products to people who believed they were reducing the risk of exposure to BPA by switching from reusable polycarbonate plastic drinking bottles.
Then, in order to tout its new BPA-free product (as many of its competitors already are doing), Sigg copped to the presence of BPA in its older products, and asked customers to take its word that testing (paid for by the company) confirms that the old linings don't leach BPA.
If you write to Sigg to complain, the company is offering a free replacement -- providing you pay the postage to send in your old BPA-containing bottle.
"We want our current and potential customers to have the facts," said Steve Wasik, CEO of Sigg.
Well, Mr. Wasik, this former customer wishes you'd been straight with the facts from the beginning.
As much as I admire Sigg's hip graphics and commitment to weaning us off throwaway water bottles, I won't be sending in my old Sigg bottle for a replacement. Why should I condone corporate doublespeak or claims of "proprietary" business information that conveniently cloud the facts?
Instead, I'll be applying the cost of postage to the purchase of a BPA-free product from one of Sigg's competitors.
Good-bye Sigg. Hello Klean Kanteen.
Follow Nena Baker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nenapdx
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Stainless steel bottles taste like metal and the water easily gets stale and smelly. And I'm still waiting to see a stainless steel bottle that ISN'T made in China. Do we REALLY think that a Chinese factory is going to have better sustainable production and humanitarian labor practices than a Swiss one???
Yes, Sigg made a BIG error in judgment, but they've come clean and are making efforts to correct their mistake and move forwrard. I just got my replacement Sigg and the water taste is even better than the old model. I'm still a Sigg fan all the way.
Nena, I had somehow missed your blog earlier, but today (Sept 8) I read Sigg's CEO's apology on this very website and I saw your post above mine in the comments about his apology, where you mentioned his response to your blog. (In a moment, I will scan through the posts on here to find his response.)
I was surprised to learn this news today about Sigg bottles, since I bought several items from their website using my current email and postal address, yet had never received the letter about the BPA issue from the CEO that their site shows as having been sent out to customers a few weeks ago. (I'm not sure which customers it was sent out to.)
I'm surprised at all the positive, forgive-and-forget comments by readers on the CEO's blog today. I won't repeat all my thoughts that are in my post in that comment section, but suffice it to say that I tend more towards your point of view than I do to theirs!
Go get 'em, Nena!
Nice Article
As a breast cancer survivor that uses a Sigg bottle daily and l bought my daughter, her husband and many of my friends one last Christmas, that really pisses me off. Shame on Sigg!
I love my Kleen Kanteen bottles and I often give them as gifts. The wide neck makes them easier to clean, too.
Is Kleen Kanteen made in China?
I don't trust any steel product from China, particularly when they come in contact with my mouth.
Too many contaminated products from China.
As I said in my previous posts below, Glass Jars are the Best.
I had not heard this before, and am quite peeved. I purchased Sigg bottles for my family for the same reasons you did. However, I purchased them in 2009 from Amazon. How can I find out if these bottles use the new "post-2008" non-BPA lining?
Hi Joseph,
The older linings that had BPA are a different color than the new linings without BPA. Read here for details about how to determine if your bottle has the old lining: http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/siggs-bpa-confession-you-arent-going-to-like-it-any-more-than-we-do/
how about nalgene bottles? are they safe now?
Revhatchell,
Nalgene's line, which includes bottles made from several different types of plastic as well as a stainless-steel option, has been BPA-free since April 2008. The company has a site devoted to explaining its products and materials: www.nalgenechoice.com. Camelbak also introduced BPA-free plastic bottles in early 2008. Here's what Camelbak is saying about the BPA issue: http://www.camelbak.com/en/camelbak-101/ceo-letter-bpa-metal-bottles.aspx
On April 18, 2008, Health Canada announced that Bisphenol A is "'toxic' to human health".
Before 2008, Nalgene and other plastic water bottle manufacturers knew that BPA was not safe, but they only removed it from their products because of media attention and the informed public were not going to buy such bottles anymore.
I don't trust Nalgene or any other plastic manufacturer. I also don't trust steel bottle manufacturers from China; Too much contaminated products from China.
True harmless containers are Glass Jars or Bottles. I re-use my pasta sauce jars to carry my filtered water. The jars are no heavier than the plastic bottles and there is definitely no BPA. Another reader gave me the idea of using Orangina bottles. They are cute and are small enough to place womens' purses. Great idea!
Definitely, Glass Jars are safer than any plastic bottle. And the water tastes better. And if the bottle breaks, so what. I have a cupboard full of recycled glass jars waiting to be used.
Nena,
I'm almost 100% sure other customers besides me were affected because according to my letter this data compromise took place between March 12, 2009 - June 8, 2009 and I'm sure a lot of people made purchases from the SIGG website during that time.
Nena,
Thanks and yes, that's exactly what I'm saying - my personal information (name, address & credit info) was stolen from SIGGs' website when I purchased my SIGG bottle online. As I stated earlier, I purchased my bottle back in March and just received a letter regarding this matter last week (August) and the letter came from the credit card bureau... NOT SIGG.
I just think 5 months is a long time for customers to be unaware that their personal information has been compromised because of an online purchase. I'm grateful that TransUnion informed me of this and have since taken steps to monitor this situation but this incident and now the BPA traces from SIGG have left a bad taste in my mouth - pun intended.
GirlCarolina,
Wow, very unsettling. It would be interesting to know if other Sigg customers had their identity/credit card information stolen, and if Sigg failed to notify them, too. I'm glad to hear you're monitoring the situation and that TransUnion took steps to inform you, even if Sigg didn't.
See Jennifer Grayson's Profile
If you decide that you’re not so outraged at Sigg’s greenwashing that you want to take the company up on its offer to replace your older bottle for a new one with BPA-free lining, here's how to get a replacement (at the end of article):
http://www.theredwhiteandgreen.com/2009/08/28/bpa-alert-how-to-return-your-sigg-bottle/
I have been using these SIGG bottles for as long as ten years, bought them in Europe whenever I was there. I loved them not only for the "green fact" but simply because it is decadent to buy plastic bottles and then throw them out after use, I never took part in that movement.
I would really like to see your sources, this article seems more like a pitch for Kleen Kanteen.
Hulagirrrl,
No pitch for Klean Kanteen intended. I'm simply making the point that I'm switching to another type of reusable water bottle because of my profound disappointment with Sigg's greenwashing ways. Sigg clouded the facts regarding BPA in its liners, and I find it inexcusable.
GirlCarolina,
Sorry for all your troubles with identity theft. Are you saying the credit card information was stolen from Sigg, and Sigg didn't inform you directly?
I think a class action Lawsuit for Fraud would be appropriate against the manufacturers of Sigg.
Thousands and thousands of customers were Lied too, thinking they were buying BPA Free water bottles.
This is intolerable.
Is there an Attorney reading this story and comment thread?
Sue them!!!
For people who want an alternative, read my comments below about Glass Jars for taking your filtered tap water on the go.
And for people who feel better with a non-breakable water bottle, go to the website below for the Polar Bottle Company.
http://www.polarbottle.com
They manufacture BPA Free water bottles right here in the U.S.A. and you can find it in a store near you. Check their website for store locations near you. Also, tell your neighborhood health food store to distribute these safe water bottles.
It's clear that Sigg does not care about BPA in their bottles and have done everything to mislead their customers. Shame on them!!
I'm using Glass Jars for my water and I'm buying a Polar Bottle for my International Trips.
Goodbye Sigg!!!!!
According to their website, Polar Bottles are made from LDPE (#4). There are many articles stating that LDPE and HDPE (#2) are safe. It sort of reminds me of the many articles that stated polycarbonate (# 7) and PET (#1) were safe, now proven to be wrong.
From chemistry texts, here are the chemicals used to produce LDPE and HDPE:
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE #4): Principle raw materials: ethylene gas (monomer). Sometimes copolymerized with butene, hexane, octene, or vinyl acetate. Toxic chemicals used in production: benzene, chromium oxide, cumene hydroperoxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide.
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE #2): Principle raw materials: ethylene gas (monomer). Also frequently copolymerized with other olefins such as 1-butene, 1-hexane, or propylene. Toxic chemicals used in production: chromium oxide, benzoyl peroxide, hexane, cyclohexane.
Personally, I do not want to wait until the studies come out showing one or more of these plastics do leach and are toxic. My health is certainly worth the inconvenience of lugging glass water bottles.
Well that's fine for you. I too lug my Glass Jars with me.
But I like to be realistic that not all people want to carry glass jars. I offer people a choice. We all know that BPA is toxic, so if a company here in the U.S. (and not across the world in China) is producing a BPA Free water bottle, Great!!!!!!
Now you can rain on the parade, but chew on this for while. What about all the supplementall products on store shelves in vitamin stores that are contained in plastic bottles? Shouldn't we worry about possible leaching too.
Look, I don't believe there is any perfect solution, other than growing our food by hand, picking it with our hands, and eating it with our hands, which of course, is just not practical for most us.
So, through my comments, I am just trying to offer reasonable alternatives. It's better to buy and use BPA Free plastic bottles. Period.
Let's focus on one battle at a time. Life is too difficult to go to war with everything at once.
I, too, was snowed by Sigg's marketing and their placement at natural foods stores and paid a high price for what I thought was a safe water bottle. IAt a natural products trade show earlier this year my sister was given one of their bottles and they did tell her that it was plastic on the inside. I told her that I had assumed mine was metal on the inside, went to check and it was the same as hers. I have not been happy about it--an expensive fraud!!
Legalize hemp and make plastic from it !
8X more oil than canola.
canola 133 gallons per acre hemp 1,000 gallons per acre
Strongest root structure known
no-till farming too
I'm with you on that, and all of the other benefits of hemp for its many uses.
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