MEC Nixes Nalgenes

[John R]

This topic has been simmering about for a while now, looks like it's come to a boil.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/mec_nixes_nalge.php

Mountain Equipment Coop, which dominates Canada's outdoor retailing scene and which helped make the Nalgene bottle a fashion statement, has given them the boot, because of growing concern about the gender bender chemical Bisphenol A in the polycarbonate plastic.

“The products have been pulled from the shelves and we're no longer selling them,” said Tim Southam, a spokesman for the retailer, which has 11 stores and annual sales of about $222-million. “We've been following this issue quite closely and it's one we've seen an increasing concern among some members.”

From the Globe and Mail: Environmental Defence, a Toronto group that has been lobbying Health Canada to ban bisphenol A from food and beverage uses, praised the retailer and said other companies should follow its lead.

“The fact that a retailer of this size, dealing in this volume of polycarbonate products, would make this decision should be a real wake-up call to other retailers,” Richard Smith, executive director of the group, said. ::Globe and Mail

More TreeHugger on Bisphenol A here. (http://www.treehugger.com/mt/mt-tags.fcgi?tag=bisphenol%20A&blog_id=1)

btw, the large water cooler bottles are of the same material.

[JUL]

I have been trying to avoid the plastic bottles since I heard Sheryl Crow in an interview say plastic H20 bottles played a role in her Breast cancer....

[Smiling JOe]

I, too, have been reading a bit about the plastics, and am trying to figure out what type of container to use for my water. Aluminum is recommended by some, but from what I've read about aluminum, you don't want to be drinking out of it for extended periods of time. I have recently resorted to a glass container with a screw on top, but I have to funnel the water in, and that doesn't always come in so handy and makes cleaning it difficult. I've been looking for a 1 litre wide-mouth glass Voss bottle to use, but I am finding Voss only in plastic these days.

[John R]

http://www.guyotdesigns.com/stainlessbottles?sc=11

http://www.kleankanteen.com/2products/products.html

http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp

[JUL]

I, too, have been reading a bit about the plastics, and am trying to figure out what type of container to use for my water. Aluminum is recommended by some, but from what I've read about aluminum, you don't want to be drinking out of it for extended periods of time. I have recently resorted to a glass container with a screw on top, but I have to funnel the water in, and that doesn't always come in so handy and makes cleaning it difficult. I've been looking for a 1 litre wide-mouth glass Voss bottle to use, but I am finding Voss only in plastic these days.
:idontno::idontno::idontno:
Pellegrino has those small glass bottles of water which are great if you are in a hurry and want a quick beverage to take along...not so good though for workouts.

I would pass on the aluminum

[JUL]

I, too, have been reading a bit about the plastics, and am trying to figure out what type of container to use for my water. Aluminum is recommended by some, but from what I've read about aluminum, you don't want to be drinking out of it for extended periods of time. I have recently resorted to a glass container with a screw on top, but I have to funnel the water in, and that doesn't always come in so handy and makes cleaning it difficult. I've been looking for a 1 litre wide-mouth glass Voss bottle to use, but I am finding Voss only in plastic these days.


How about a mason jar....:biggrin:

[Beach Runner]

I had no clue about this. Thanks for the info, John R. I thought I was being healthy by drinking water from our 5-gallon dispenser. And I use my Nalgene bottle to avoid the environmental harm from all of the individual bottles of water. So what do we do? Drink tap water (ours has so much chlorine in it that when we take a bath, the water is blue) in paper cups (but what chemicals are in there)?:idontno:

[JUL]

I had no clue about this. Thanks for the info, John R. I thought I was being healthy by drinking water from our 5-gallon dispenser. And I use my Nalgene bottle to avoid the environmental harm from all of the individual bottles of water. So what do we do? Drink tap water (ours has so much chlorine in it that when we take a bath, the water is blue) in paper cups (but what chemicals are in there)?:idontno:

Try a filter on your tap or a lot refrigerators have a purifier.....

[scooterbug44]

I am quite sure that the iodine based water purification tablets and crystals I used for years to purify my drinking water are much more harmful than the Nalgene bottles I put the water and iodine into.

With a few exceptions, the water from your tap is safe. Use a glass glass while at home, add a filter if you don't care for how your water tastes, don't reuse the mass produced water bottles, and you'll live a long happy life...................until some other chemical does you in! ;-)

Everything in life will eventually kill you if not used in moderation, and so will constantly worrying about it!

[30A Skunkape]

I am quite sure that the iodine based water purification tablets and crystals I used for years to purify my drinking water are much more harmful than the Nalgene bottles I put the water and iodine into.

With a few exceptions, the water from your tap is safe. Use a glass glass while at home, add a filter if you don't care for how your water tastes, don't reuse the mass produced water bottles, and you'll live a long happy life...................until some other chemical does you in! ;-)

Everything in life will eventually kill you if not used in moderation, and so will constantly worrying about it!

Thank you Scooter!:clap: And shame on Sheryl Crow if she actually blamed her breast cancer on water bottles, she has no hard evidence to back that up and it is just as good a theory that playing the guitar gave her breast cancer.:bang::bang:

[Smiling JOe]

How about a mason jar....:biggrin:That is actually a great idea, but I seem to recall the girth of the quart jar and the mouth of the jar seems a little wide for holding and drinking. Maybe I'll take another look. I know they make plastic lids for the smaller Mason Jars, so I'll grab one of those if I go with a Mason Jar.

[30A Skunkape]

That is actually a great idea, but I seem to recall the girth of the quart jar and the mouth of the jar seems a little wide for holding and drinking. Maybe I'll take another look. I know they make plastic lids for the smaller Mason Jars, so I'll grab one of those if I go with a Mason Jar.

You would look funny walking around taking sips of a clear liquid from a mason jar:floor:

[Smiling JOe]

You would look funny walking around taking sips of a clear liquid from a mason jar:floor: I could start with water, then once everyone knows its water, I could start drinking moonshine. :funn:The only problem is that I'd be dead if I drank a quart of "mountain dew."