Recently it has been brought to my attention that all SIGG water bottles produced prior to August 2008 contained BPA. Prior to this date SIGG misled consumers into believing that their product was not plastic, but a water based epoxy resin — the implication being that it was safe and did not contain BPA.

Read more at these links:

SIGGS BPA Confession at Zrecommends

How to Identify Your SIGG at Consumerist

Letter from SIGG CEO at SIGG

The big SIGG BPA letdown at Crunchy Domestic Goddess

Here is my open letter to Steve Wasik the CEO of SIGG. Please feel free to write him yourself and do spread the word.

Dear Mr. Wasik,

The news that your SIGG water bottles (prior to 2008 production) contain BPA is the greatest news of deceit that I have encountered as a consumer in my lifetime. Since learning I was pregnant with my son in September 2006, I specifically avoided and continue to avoid plastic products, including those products containing BPA, as it is a known endocrine disruptor. Around this time our family purchased two SIGG water bottles that we have used religiously when out and about and away from our water glasses at home.

While preganant I drank from my SIGG bottle 4 days per week as I had a long commute to a college campus where I did not have easy access to water. When my son was born I breastfed him and carried my SIGG bottle around with me to have water on walks and at the store. Last year, when my son turned one we got him a big boy SIGG water bottle. I would not have made any of these purchases had I known your products were lined with BPA. I am in fact outraged to know that if my son were to be tested and show levels BPA in his system — the most likely culprit would be our SIGG water bottles.

First off, I was raised in a family that never trusted plastic products and so, I was an early adopter of the theory that one ought to be better “safe than sorry” in regards to BPA and plastics in general. From 2005 to 2007 I switched out all of our older Tuperware for glassware. During this time I elminated plastic bowls and cups from household use and I continue to purchase food products in glass and or I make my own. We eat out in frequently and have minimal exposure to BPA.

When my son was born I purchased BPA free bottles, teething rings and other baby products. When I supplemented breast milk with formula I did so with the only brand that guaranteed no BPA in their liner. I would have spared no expense to buy a BPA free water bottle and so I did OR at least I was led to believe that my purchase was a BPA free bottle. To say the least your tactics and wordings were deceptive and at worse, lying through omission.

I am outraged that despite my personal research and diligence, to learn that I have been reading drinking from a bottle lined with BPA. Needless to say, we will no longer be drinking from our SIGG Bottles and I will not be purchasing new ones, rather, if we do purchase replacements, we will do so from a company who willingly acknowledged the BPA content of their water bottles, while working to develop a new formula.

Sincerely,

Green Me (personal information withheld for privacy)

P.s. This is an open letter that will be published at www.greenme.vg and will be shared with friends and family.

P.p.s. I have read that 3rd party testing has not found leaching of BPA from bottles, but I wonder (a) how old are the bottles that they are testing and (b) have they left them in a hot car on numerous occasions? Heat and age cause other products to leach and our bottles have been left in the car on numerous occasions and are over 3 years old!

**** Prompt Response Received from SIGG ****

Hi Alison,

First off, thank you for taking the time to write to me.

I understand your point and recognize that there is a lot of confusion about BPA out there right now. To my knowledge, we at SIGG have never advertised our old liner bottles as being BPA free.  Sometimes SIGG retailers or journalists will hear the “no leaching of BPA” message and inadvertently shorten that in their communications to “no BPA”. We did our best to correct them but usually it was after the fact.

We believe we have the best protective liners in the world and have been extremely transparent with the testing of our bottles which you may have seen in the info section on our site (www.MySIGG.com/bulletin). The controversy that has swirled around BPA in the past has involved the problems of plastic bottles leaching BPA into the water – and in my 4 years with the company, SIGG has never had a problem with leaching. For the record, my family and I are still drinking from SIGG bottles with the former non-leaching liner which I have complete confidence in.

We actually did make an announcement about the new liner in January when the bottles hit the market. However, the media did not pick up the news. Due to a long-term agreement that SIGG had with our supplier (& owner) of the old liner formula, we were unable to speak about the ingredients. This placed us in a difficult situation and was another reason we began development of our new EcoCare liner with a new supplier.

Sorry to hear that we have lost your faith. If you should reconsider, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department (liners@mysigg.com). They will contact you directly if you wish to exchange your old SIGG bottles for new SIGG bottles with the BPA-free EcoCare liner. Thanks again for your email.

Best regards,

Steve