Sigg CEO Steve Wasik recently wrote an open letter to all Sigg customers revealing that BPA was used in the epoxy-based lining of the company’s water bottles produced before August of 2008, when the company launched its new “EcoCare” liner in all bottles.
In spite of the fact that BPA was used in the liner material, independent tests conducted by Sigg and other third party tests obtained by The B.O.S.S. Report show the no BPA leached into the contents of the bottle, even when it was filled with acidic liquid, like fruit juice.
Wasik stated in his letter, “The bottles were thoroughly and regularly tested in both the USA and Switzerland and all tests revealed absolutely no migration or leaching of BPA or any other substance from the protective inner liner. These tests have been public information on the SIGG website for several years and remain there today.”
In spite of the tests, Wasik launched an initiative in 2006 to createa BPA-free liner because Sigg “recognized early that there were questions surrounding BPA.”
The initiative included two years of testing and a $1 million investment into the Sigg factory. The new liner is “certified to be 100% free of BPA, phthalates, BADGE, BFDGE, and NOGE. It is also environmentally friendly as its application generates virtually no waste and utilizes no organic solvents or VOCs,” according to Wasik.
No other aluminum bottle manufacturer using an epoxy-based liner has come forward to admit that their bottles contain BPA even though tests show many other brands do have BPA leaching into water and other liquids stored in their bottles. Lakken USA recently issued a press release calling for BPA-free standards in reusable water bottles. Laken has its bottles certified as BPA-free and is working with OIA to help draft Senator Charles Schumer’s bill to ban BPA in food and beverage containers for infants and toddlers.
Currently, Sigg and Lakken are the only two aluminum water bottle manufacturers to use a BPA free lining. However, other companies like Klean Kanteen and Camelbak are making BPA free bottles using stainless steel.
