Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Mr. SIGG, Your Jig is Up

Many of you know I am not the biggest fan of plastic. I never ever microwave anything in plastic and I also threw out a lot of my plastic containers and replaced them with glass containers because I saw this program on TV about how plastics can cause a lot of health problems. I even tried to replace all my plastic bottles with glass containers around the house, but let's face it, it's hard and frankly, really inconvenient. So I can't say I've made the complete switch, but I try to make a conscious effort. One significant change I made was getting rid of my beloved Nalgene bottles and replacing them with a SIGG. Last year, they discovered that Nalgene bottles were made of polycarbonate (look for the #7 in a triangle on the bottom of your bottles) which may leach Bisphenol A, an estrogen-like chemical, into your contents. I don't know the physics or chemistry behind this Bisphenol A character, but "estrogen-like chemical" translates to "scary monster" in my book.

Since then, I've been extolling the virtues of Mr. SIGG and have encouraged all my friends and family to make the switch too for the piece of mind. Turns out, Mr. SIGG was not so honest with me. They did a thorough testing of their bottles and while there was no detectable traces of BPA that leached out of the container, the liner that they used to coat their bottles prior to August 2008 did contain BPA. So while it didn't leak, it's still there, lurking underneath the surface. Not cool Mr. SIGG. As a result, SIGG changed their lining to one that is now completely BPA-free. Here's a picture of the old and new liner.
Although Mr. SIGG wasn't completely honest with me, he's at least redeeming himself for doing an exchange program (unlike Nalgene). If you're a REI member or you have your receipt, you can just exchange them at the store, otherwise you have to mail them in directly to SIGG and get a coupon for a new one. It's not a recall, but a voluntary program, so it's not openly advertised. I don't even know how I came across it, but I just wanted to let my readership of 3 know about it. =)

The exchange offer is available through October 31, 2009 so if you have an old SIGG, I would get on it quick. I'm a little peeved at SIGG but I guess now we know it's 100% BPA free. FYI they did some tests on some other metal water bottle knockoffs from China and those leached BPA, so I wouldn't buy any metal looking water bottle and think you're in the clear - stick with a reputable brand. SIGG's are now a good option, but if you're in the market for a new water bottle, try a Klean Kanteen. I haven't heard anything negative about them (yet). So for now, I plan on sending Mr. SIGG in for a new replacement, hopefully the new and improved version will prove to be more trustworthy. Happy 09/09/09 day everyone!

4 comments:

  1. hahaha, be patient little jedi, it is in the works... =)

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  2. I got a KK bottle because it was cheaper but I find out that I rarely use it, so maybe I need to get rid of it :P

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  3. Hi Sky,

    Actually you want to keep the KK bottle. Those are ok, it's the SIGG brand (with the old lining) that you want to get rid of. There hasn't been any negative press on KK bottles yet, so those are safe for now. =) Thanks for visiting my blog.

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