Heraldnet.com
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2009 3:00 am
LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
RECENT POSTS:
Dark Days Challenge: Week 2  November 27

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day in Everett  November 24

Turn your used turkey-frying oil into biofuels.  November 23

Dark Days Challenge: Week 1  November 19

Uh-oh: I'm taking the 3rd Annual Dark Days Challenge!  November 16

Archives:
Twitter Updates
    LINKS:

    Eat Local
    Eat Wild
    Get Fresh
    Pacific Northwest Cheese Project
    Puget Sound Fresh
    Tilth Producers
    Urban Hennery (Everett)

    Eco Friendly
    Ask Umbra
    EcoConsumer
    Green Everett
    Green Gardening Tips
    Grist
    Living Sustainably in Snohomish County

    Recycling
    2good2toss
    E-Cycle Washington
    Freecycle
    PC Recycle
    Recycle with Karen (Everett)
    Snohomish County Solid Waste
    The Story of Stuff
    RELATED ARTICLES:
    Hawaii protecting coral reefs with fines  November 28
    Putin's rare Siberian tiger is OK, official confirms  November 25
    Obama to outline U.S. climate goals at Copenhagen  November 25
    Fighting global warming reduces diseases, studies say  November 25
    Stormwater projects approved in 3 state cities  November 24
    U.S. should spell out long-term climate goal, EU says  November 24
    U.S. to offer emissions target at climate summit  November 24
    McDonald’s makes its logo more ‘green’ in Europe  November 23
    Greenhouse gases reach record high in 2008, U.N. says  November 23
    Federal judge holds key hearing in salmon-dam dispute  November 23
     

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Eco Geek


    Jupiter Images (click to enlarge)
     
    ADVERTISEMENT

     

    SIGGnificant scandal: BPA bust!


    Posted at 10:53 am by Sarah Jackson

    If you haven't heard: Swiss-made SIGG bottles have been busted.

    According to Salon.com:
    ”SIGG Switzerland, the makers of popular aluminum reusable water bottles -- a must-have accessory for the fashionably eco-friendly set -- admitted that prior to August 2008, their bottles contained the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA). …

    Thus, it's ironic that many eco-conscious consumers switched to SIGG bottles when they found out that Nalgene's old bottles contained BPA. While SIGG never said their bottles were BPA-free, they also did not correct the misconception that their bottles didn't contain the chemical.”


    How embarrassing for SIGG, deemed guilty of greenwashing by omission.

    It is, however, embarrassing for me, too.

    Not only did I switch to SIGGs, I also wholeheartedly recommended them and their spiffy designs (among others) on this blog in search of alternatives to BPA-containing polycarbonate bottles such as old-school Nalgenes.

    I even quoted SIGG's marketing literature, which talked of a “ground-breaking interior lining that is 100 percent effective against leaching and combats residue build-up so that that all you taste is the water, juice or energy drink that you just poured in the bottle, even after its been sitting in the sun.”

    SIGG fans are outraged.

    Can't we trust Europe anymore? Whole Foods? What will we find out next?

    Perhaps it's a reminder that one should never assume anything, especially when “green” is on the line.

    As one Salon commenter put it, regarding one outraged eco-writer who made the same mistake: “I just have to ask: Did she ask the company directly? She was talking to these people over a course of years, and she never asked the direct question? Some journalist.”

    Touche.

    What do you think of all this? What is your water vessel of choice?
    READER COMMENTS
    Click here to see all Eco Geek comments
    Log in or register to post new commentLog out
    SIGGnificant scandal: BPA bust!
    Great post, I hadn't realized they'd been recalled, but I'd gotten something similar and neverliked it. I've use a glass bottle and I take it to the gym,hiking,everywhere I go. I haven't dropped it yet.
    debra daniels-zeller | Sep 21, 2009 8:07 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal
      Return to Eco Geek

    FREE 6 lb. Pad w/
    30yd Carpet Purchase

    $1 off French Dip
    $4.99 Burger Basket

    $5 Off
    Stylecut

    Buy 1 Dinner Entree
    Get 2nd 50% Off

    75% OFF
    Many Items. Hurry!

    $2 OFF
    at Box Office

    Oil - Snohomish County
    Low Prices - Fill Now!

    Holiday Specials
    up to 25% off!

    Nutcracker
    Family Packs Available

    15% Off
    All Repairs!

    Always Free
    Transmission Diagnostic

    20% Off Dinner
    Up to $75 Value!

    Buy 1 Get 1 FREE
    Lube Oil Filter

    Lube, Oil & Filter
    Buy 1 - Get 1 FREE

    Over 1 Million Lights
    Lights of Christmas

    Holiday Getaway
    $99 dbl Occupancy

    25% off Bath & Groom
    New Customers

    Nutcracker
    Family Packs Available
    Pacific Northwest Ballet
    TODAY'S TOP JOBS
     View All Top Jobs 
    Top Cars
    Top Homes

    ADVERTISEMENT