October 23rd, 2009

In the past year, the water bottle industry has turned upside down.  Since 2005, the plastic polycarbonate water bottles have been king of the hill.  The polycarbonates are popular because they do not transfer the taste of the plastic bottle to the liquid inside the bottles, unlike other plastic water bottles.  Nalgene polycarbonate water bottles ruled the retail market and many promotional product companies developed thier own versions.  However in the summer of 2008 the situation changed.      

The polycarbonate water bottles downfall began in the summer of 2008 when the Canadian government classified Bisphenol A (BPA) as a dangerous chemical.  BPA is one of the chemcials used in manufacturing polycarbonate water bottles (and other plastic products) and it was banned because the government ruled that this chemical was leaking into liquid inside the bottles and was harming the users.  To read more about this ruling, read our blog post on this issue by clicking HERE.  So far the FDA has not banned BPA, so products are still made using this chemcial in the United States.  However as other nations have banned this chemcial, support for banning the chemical in the U.S. continues to increase. 

Even though BPA is not banned in the U.S., many buyers did not want water bottles with their name and logo that may have a potentially harzardous chemical.  So in 2009 many manufacturers switched to making polycarbonate water bottles BPA free.  These water bottles have been popular but the question remains; What is the chemical that replaced BPA and is that chemical or a different chemical in plastic water bottles going to be found harmful in the future?  

This is unknown and the bottles may be found to be safe for the long term.  At Magellan Promotions we do still sell plastic water bottles, mostly BPA free, as they are a cost effective and popular promotional product.  

However, since the issue of BPA came to the surface, metal water bottles are gaining in popularity.  There are two popular metal bottle materials, stainless steel and aluminum.  On the surface, there is a not a big difference between these two types of bottles.  The stainless steels bottles are marginally more expensive and the material is slightly heavier. However there is one big difference between the two bottles and for that reason, we recomend going with the stainless steel over the aluminum. 

The main difference between the two materials is that aluminum leaches and stainless does not.  So on aluminum bottles, a lining needs be put into the bottle to prevent the taste from being effected and protect the liquid from any impurities from the material.  The reason we are not proponents of this lining is for two reasons. 

1. The lining can be scratched and thus worn away over time. 
2. We are not privy to what the lining is made from. 

Recently you may have heard the news about Sigg, a national retail manufacturer of aluminum water bottles.  They had insisted for many months that their lining to aluminum bottles did not include BPA.  However a couple of weeks back under pressure they changed their story and admitted that BPA existed in the lining but said that the amount was so small that it did not pose a risk to the users. 

To stay away from this lining issue, we recommend going with the stainless steel water bottles.  Stainless steel is a neatral material that does not leach, thus it is a safe product.  Stainless steel has long been a staple in cookware, silverware and drinkware.  Thus we recommend clients who are using water bottles to promote their business to consider stainless steel water bottles. 

Now there is a big price difference between plastic and metal water bottles and the budget does not always work to go with the stainless option.  With the increase in popularity in stainless water bottles, the available options has recently increased and the pricing has come down.  Under our Owner's Picks, we have hand selected the most popular stainless steel water bottle options for you to choose from.  To see these options, click HERE.

As we stated earlier, we continue to sell and offer plastic water bottles and we see this segment of products continuing to grow and evolve through time.  However if you are concerned about the long term effects of plastic and want to offer employees/clients/prospects a first class water bottle, stainless steel is the way to go.