Saturday, August 30, 2008

Bargainista gets a little greener

I drink a lot of water and I’m usually seen carrying a bottle of water around with me wherever I go.

Two things about this habit have really been bothering me:
Bisphenol A; and,
Waste from all the empty plastic bottles

Some of my friends were giving me flack.

As part of our green office initiative at work, all employees were given Bisphenol A-free water bottles. It still didn’t solve my problem after hours, especially during my commute to work and on weekends.

My search for stainless steel bottle was on. For most of the summer, they’ve been impossible to find. I found some SIGG bottles when I visited Halifax in July. This may sound lame but I found most of them awkward to carry. I waited until my kids came home from sleepover camp so I could try the $5 bottles I bought them from Wal-mart. Yuck! The water had an awful metallic taste. Pass.

I was walking on Yonge St. with Mr. B when he spotted a collection of water bottles in the window at Higher Ground. Inside they carried a few different brands so I had more to choose from than SIGG. The coolest thing is they came in a wide variety of colour, shapes and sizes. I ended up buying a fuschia one (surprised?) by Laken. What sold me was the carbineer attached to the bottle top. I’ve been using it for a few days now and I’m sold. BTW, it was $22 – $1 less than the same sized SIGG.

The next day I was at ToyTown and one of the employees asked me where I bought my Laken bottle because his friends swear by them. We started talking about stainless steel water bottles and as it turns out ToyTown claims it was the first store to carry the SIGG line in Canada. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they carry a wide selection of SIGG accessories including snack containers for toddlers.

What have you been doing to make the world greener?

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:58 pm

    That bottle looks cool. I bought a stainless steel bottle a few months ago at Whole Foods, and received another as a gift, so I keep one in the fridge at all times for trips to the gym, etc. We stopped buying bottled water at home early in 2008, and for health reasons I have replaced the kids' Nalgene bottles with stainless steel.

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  2. Donna, I never thought about keeping a bottle in the fridge at all times. Thanks for the tip - now I guess I'll need to buy another one. I also tossed out our Nalgene bottles this year. At his request, I bought my younger son a new SIGG bottle as one of his back-to-school supplies.

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  3. hey! i hate the metallic taste of water too -ick!!!! but i also hate carrying around plastic bottles... how does the water taste in this bottle?

    Thanks!

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  4. kokostilletto, Now that I've been carrying my stainless steel bottle around, I don't know how I carried plastic bottles around for so long either. My Laken bottle is so much easier to carry even though it's a bit heavier. You'll also be happy to know the water tastes pretty much like water. I noticed a tiny bit of a metallic taste at first but it didn't bother me like it did with some other bottles.

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  5. www.onebottle.ca has great stainless steel/non-drip water bottles - plus they donate part of the purchase price to WWF.

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  6. Thanks for the great tip, Parent Club.

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  7. Anonymous12:10 am

    Hi, I actually am a wholesaler of similar bottles that can be logo'd too but have to tell you that many and most who are cost conscious still prefer the BpA friendly plastic bottles as they look great, taste great, are healthy and are only around $4.00 logo'd wholesale. Stainless Steel dents easily too. FYI
    Jody at Bargains Group

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  8. Anonymous8:29 am

    Jody, thanks for your comment and info. about BpA-free plastic bottles vs. stainless steel. Plastic bottles are also lighter weight.

    ReplyDelete

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