If you've been following outdoor news or purchased a reusable water bottle in the last year and a half you've probably heard about all the concerns regarding BPA (Bisphenol-A). The big news from the past two weeks, however, is that aluminum bottles sold as healthy alternatives to plastic--including Sigg and Laken-- contained BPA as well.
An investigative article on August 19 from
SNEWS, an outdoor and health and fitness industry publication, broke the first direct admission from Sigg that until August of 2008 their aluminum bottles were lined with an epoxy containing BPA. The chemical has been shown to mimic estrogen and is linked to a host of health issues including early-stage cancers, uterine disease, and other developmental and reproductive problems.
Among other revelations, the article stated, "Steve Wasik, CEO of SIGG, and Greg Garrigues, president of Laken USA, each confirmed to
SNEWS their respective companies were aware their bottles were being made with an epoxy lining that contained BPA long before the smoldering BPA brushfire turned into a wildfire in late 2007 and into 2008."
Aluminum bottles have been on shelves all over the country touted as a "healthy" alternative to plastic and in many cases were labeled in stores and online as "BPA Free" when, in fact, they were not.
Fin & Feather's stance
At the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 we chose as a store to phase out all bottles that contained BPA.
Camelbak introduced a new hard plastic bottle that was BPA free in 2007 so we introduced those as well as Klean Kanteen, a stainless steel bottle that required no lining on the inside to make it food grade.
Bottle sales skyrocketed all over the country in 2008 with Camelbak, Sigg, and Klean Kanteen leading the way. Despite having an open account with Sigg, though, we chose not to bring their bottles into the store. Aluminum has known health risks and as such all aluminum food containers must be lined with a material to make it food grade and safe for use.
Sigg, at the time, refused to say what their lining was made with, instead saying it was a proprietary mixture they wanted to protect internally and that it didn't leach BPA. They wouldn't say it was BPA free.
We declined to bring Sigg into the store despite booming sales for the brand because we knew these things:
- Aluminum and tin must be lined with something.
- The majority of those linings contain BPA.
- Sigg wouldn't say what was in their lining, but as a company tested their bottles for leaching BPA.
- So if your bottle doesn't contain BPA, why would you test to see if it leaches?
And that is the conversation we've been having with our customers for the past 18 months.
While we are patting ourselves on the back here somewhat, we also think it's important to let our customers know that the "healthy" aluminum bottle purchased to replace a BPA-laden plastic one likely contains BPA as well. And for other retailers who had been selling Sigg and say they were duped: the information was out there if you were willing to look for it.
There are several things to take away from this.One, Laken was willing to disclose its lining contained BPA to anyone who asked (we did) and was quick to redesign its liner once it was determined BPA could be harmful. Laken is now spearheading an initiative to eliminate BPA from products used by infants and toddlers--the group (along with pregnant women) most likely to be affected by BPA.
Two, Sigg bottles leaving warehouses now are BPA free, but it doesn't mean the old lining isn't still on shelves. Check the interior of the bottles to be certain. A link to the original SNEWS article is below with a picture that shows the difference between the linings.
Three, it's somewhat disconcerting that the PR line coming from Sigg is they didn't realize the concern was about BPA being in the bottle at all, not whether or not it leached into the liquid. It seems odd to be an industry leader and not have a pulse on what's happening within it. It's also rather convenient to disclose the lining contents now that there's a new alternative ready for sale.
There's tons of information out there (some posted below) about this if you want to read more, plus we're always happy to lend what information we have. A big thanks to
SNEWS as well for getting to the bottom of this and getting it out the consumers.
-Matt Berry
Fin & Feather
Additional ReadingOriginal article from SNEWSInteresting
article from the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that investigates the similarities between the plastics industry fighting BPA and big tobacco's public relations efforts.
SNEWS also posted an article yesterday about a class-action suit against Sigg for misleading consumers. The Courthouse News Service article is
here.
Thanks to everyone who came out to paddle at our first annual event. The official race results can be found here: Race Results 
