What's Up With the Bottles?

BPA free mini bottle. $4.99 at 50 pcs min.

A while ago there was a plastic bottle scare. People shied away from bottles with a No. 7 on the recycling symbol and large retailers started programs where people can go trade in their old bottles for brand new ones or for money back.

Why?

The polycarbonate material that went into making a lot of the "indestructable" plastic drinkware on the market was found to leach Bisphenol A (BPA) under certain lab conditions. There is still controversy in the medical world as to whether these results are applicable to humans.

• BPA stands for Bisphenol A and is a key compound used in the production process of certain plastics (like polyester, PVC, polycarbonate and epoxy resins).

• BPA is controversial due to its chemical similarity to the human hormone estrogen.

• BPA is most commonly found to be leached from the epoxy liners in canned foods. To a lesser degree, it is also leached from polycarbonate bottles that have been cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high temperature liquids.

• In 2006 Canadian government listed BPA as under assessment for safety. In April 2008 the Canadian government released its draft report classifying BPA as being risky for infants and proposed it to be “toxic to human health and environment”.

• In other parts of the world, the reaction is opposite. In 2006 the German Institute for Risk Assessment announced polycarbonate baby bottles are safe and stated that published research on the health effects of Bisphenol A is "difficult to interpret and [is] occasionally contradictory”.

• Later that year, the European Union’s Food Safety Authority reached a similar conclusion.

• In 2007 Japan also claimed that current levels of human exposure to BPA does not pose any unacceptable risk to human health.

• Plastics have 7 types of identification. The 7th category is reserved for “others”. Therefore, not all #7 type plastics contain BPA.

Now, with all that said, suppliers are wary that consumers will view all polycarbonate or hard plastics as harmful regardless. After all, science is always telling us one thing and then another. So polycarbs may be acceptable in the UK - but what about North America?

The first reaction was a wave of people switching over to aluminum or stainless steel bottles.


There are pros and cons for each - basically aluminum is light to carry, inexpensive to make, and readily available. Coated with an inner water based liner, aluminum bottles can offer a couple of years of use as a water bottle with no worries.

Stainless steel is the ultimate in terms of food safety and peace of mind. Food grade stainless steel is used to make everything from pots and pans to utensils and will not leach or interact with food elements. When stainless first came out, they had a disadvantage of being limited in terms of shape and aesthetics.

Today, however, stainless steel bottles have come a long way. Thinner walled and larger mouthed, these are a beauty to behold.

Stainless Steel wide mouth bottles - $9.42 including 1 colour print. 24 oz.

For those who want to seek other options, new plastics have since been released onto the market for safe drinkware purposes.

This new item is from Aladdin and made with BPA free plastic. And ladies and gents - this item is DISHWASHER SAFE. I know. It's amazing.

Price around $15 each decorated with 1 colour print. 24 oz.


Another New Item:
Horizon BPA free bottle
Around $9.02 CDN with 1 colour print.

BPA free options are available for as low as $5 and can be as executive as $15 or $20. Whether you are giving these away or wrapping them up as high end gifts, water bottles are practical, environmentally friendly (use these instead of buying bottles of water), and promote wellness.

Call us to ask - we'll find the right match for your needs and you can be sure we've done our homework to find out what's best for you.

- Posted by Jenny