In August 2009, well-known Swiss water bottle manufacturer, SIGG, and the SIGG CEO Steve Wasik released a statement revealing that their water bottles made before August of 2008 did in fact contain trace amounts of the harmful, leaching chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA). Wasik had been singing a very different tune in previous years, and as expected, millions of faithful customers were let down, outraged, and felt completely betrayed by the SIGG company, their products, and what they had believed the company stood for.

SIGG customers have every right to be extremely angry. While thinking that they were buying safe products for themselves and their family members, they were in fact buying water bottles that contained the harmful chemical they were striving to avoid.

On March 12, 2007, Wasik had posted a letter on the SIGG website stating:

“I can assure you that SIGG bottles are absolutely not made with a plastic liner and are in fact lined with  a proprietary non-toxic, water-based resin which has been refined over decades of study and is extremely safe & stable.”

And Wasik went on to say:

“As you may know, the BPA issues surrounding Lexan plastic bottles (polycarbonate #7) involve the migration of chemicals from the plastic into the contents of the bottles. On the other hand, SIGG bottles have been thoroughly tested in Europe to ensure 0% leaching of any substance – no trace of BPA, BPB or any phthalates.”

You may have noticed in Wasik’s first statement, where he mentions the SIGG water bottle lining to be “proprietary.” This in fact is where a lot of Wasik’s troubles began. In previous years, Wasik and SIGG supposedly could not disclose the ingredients of the SIGG water bottle liner since it was a proprietary secret. However, with the recent news uncovering of the liners containing trace amounts of leaching BPA, it seems as if they might have been afraid of their customers knowing what was actually in the liners, rather than of their liners being copied. So yes, technically it was a “proprietary secret,” but not in the many ways their customers believed it to be.

Though this statement was dated March 12, 2007, Wasik said that SIGG water bottles had “no trace of BPA.” SIGG later recanted by saying they never said that their products did not contain BPA, but only that they “did not leach BPA.”

What is the difference? Why the shifty word games? In our opinion, it’s black and white: either the product is BPA-free, or it’s not, and it seems that millions of longtime SIGG customers agree. Yes, it is true that Wasik wasn’t exactly lying–but at the same time he certainly wasn’t telling the whole truth. And honestly, why should a customer have to read between the lines of a “safe” product to make sure that it’s safe? Though SIGG had millions of devoted followers, many are now finding it hard to still have faith in SIGG’s products, and especially in the company’s character. Basically it boils down to this: no one likes being lied to. Or to put it nicely, “not being told the whole truth.”

Dr. Ben, CEO of StainlessWaterBottles.com and HealthEGoods.com, had a similar experience with SIGG. Back in 2005, Dr. Ben had been approached by SIGG to possibly carry their water bottles at HealthEGoods.com. Dr. Ben was very interested in the SIGG water bottles since he knew they had a big following but the “proprietary” conversations made him uncomfortable. Dr. Ben wanted to know if they were completely BPA-free or not, and the only answer he would receive involved them being proprietary. Dr. Ben says,

“[SIGG] refused to tell me what the lining was made of, and would not disclose it-they just kept saying it was proprietary. I knew that aluminum cans are lined with BPA so i put the two together. This was 4 years ago….I never carried them. Lab tests showed no leaching of aluminum, even if the bottle dented, but I asked about the lining’s integrity when it dented, and they said it was fine. I said ‘Why? How? What is it?’ ‘proprietary.’”

Regardless, Dr. Ben did not feel confident in choosing to carry SIGG water bottles without knowing exactly what the liners were made of. Dr. Ben is dedicated to carrying only safe and healthy, eco-friendly products at both StainlessWaterBottles.com and HealthEGoods.com–and the reoccurring term of “proprietary” just raised too many questions and red flags that he wasn’t willing to take a chance on.

In August 2009, Wasik released a letter stating:

“Within the reusable bottle water category, polycarbonate plastic bottles (#7) came under scrutiny in early 2008 because they were found to leach BPA. As a result, many consumers turned to metal bottles (aluminum and stainless steel) because these bottles had no issues with BPA migration. Prior to its transition, SIGG utilized a water-based epoxy liner which contained a trace amount of BPA.”

Soon after that statement went public, and millions of outraged customers started boycotting SIGG products, Wasik again released a statement–this time, rather than being on the defense he was on the offense, publishing an apology in The Huffington Post. Wasik begins the apology by stating:

“As Chief Executive Officer of SIGG, a leading maker of reusable water bottles, I made a mistake when I decided not to announce that our old bottle liner contained trace amounts of bisphenol A. I learned about the liner’s content in 2006, when there was debate in the scientific community about the effects of BPA. Scientists lined up on both sides of the issue: Some said BPA posed potential health risks, others said BPA was perfectly safe.”

Wasik goes on in the apology to say:

“…a growing number of people have decided to eliminate the concern from their lives by avoiding BPA. Given the situation, I recently decided that we had to tell everyone that bottles manufactured with our former liner (prior to August 2008) contained trace amounts of BPA.”

We understand that at this point Wasik was honestly trying to make any amends possible, but again–how is he doing us a favor by deciding to release this information when he let all of SIGG’s consumers believe false information for countless years? It makes us almost feel as if he’s saying, “But I finally told you the truth, doesn’t that count for something?” However, there is one point that we can all agree on. Wasik later states in the apology, “We were right to make the announcement. But I was wrong to have waited this long.”

We assume that Wasik will be feeling the pain that he has caused millions of SIGG customers for many years to come. SIGG is currently taking many steps towards trying to rebuild their name and character among their lost customers, but many are confused on just exactly how to feel about this whole fiasco. SIGG is promising new bottles in exchange for any of those purchased before 2008, but is it too late for that? Will SIGG customers want a new SIGG water bottle, or in general, to give them another chance?

Wasik states as well in his apology that he is, “…still learning to be a green CEO. When [he] took this position, [he] naively assumed that “green” meant being a steward of the environment.” We’re not exactly sure what that means since it still sounds fairly ambiguous, but okay. Though Wasik is not the only one completely at fault in this case, he is no longer the CEO of SIGG.

Dr. Ben distinctly remembers how he felt when he first heard the bad news surrounding SIGG. He says,

“After I heard the news about SIGG, my first reaction was ‘I knew it!’ and I was happy that I never promoted or sold one of their bottles. But after it sunk in for a few hours, I became quite angry that they would purposely hide such important information for monetary benefit. I am glad that the CEO has been replaced but it will take a lot more than that for them to regain face in the marketplace. To be honest, I do not know how they are even still in business.”

And unfortunately, we think many of SIGG’s faithful customers from the past feel the same. Are they willing to take a chance on their health again with SIGG’s “safe” products? And even if they are, will they still advocate for SIGG as passionately as they did in the past?

Besides offering free water bottles that do not contain the original water-based epoxy liner with trace amounts of BPA, SIGG is trying to make amends by posting all of the content details on their bottles, including those for the new liner, cap, and the bottle itself. SIGG also promises that they “will make the information as transparent and understandable as possible.” (Shouldn’t this have been the original game plan?) And, if you don’t want to PAY for shipping on sending your bottle back to SIGG for replacement, they’re being kind enough to post a link on their website of all SIGG retailers where your bottle can be returned in person. SIGG is also starting an independently-managed grant fund that will raise money and awareness for BPA and chemical research. All of the above, is great; we’re just mainly sad that this couldn’t have been the case all along. It’s more a case of “are you sad did it, or are you sad you got caught?”

Was Your SIGG Water Bottle Purchased before August of 2008?

As shown above, there are very distinct ways in telling if your bottle is BPA-free, or the older version with trace amounts of BPA.

The older version (on the right) has a shiny copper, bronze finish and was made from proprietary water-based epoxy liner thoroughly tested and shown to contain absolutely no leaching of BPA. (Ahem.)

The newer version (on the left) has a dull pale yellow coating, with a special powder-based co-polyester liner certified to be 100% BPA and phthalate free. It has been manufactured since August 2008.

Though the new SIGG water bottles made after August of 2008 are truly BPA-free, Dr. Ben is still skeptical of SIGG’s water bottle liners, or for that matter, any company’s water bottle liners. He states,

“In my opinion, you have to be careful with any liner; labs show that the new liner is BPA-free, but what else is it made from? It appears to be safe now, but will it be safe 5 years from now? Why take a risk on another lining when you can obtain a stainless water bottle with no lining? BPA was deemed safe until it was found out accidentally to cause infertility in a lab rat. Why risk another lining when you dont need one?”

Do You Need to Replace Your SIGG for a New Water Bottle?

Dr. Ben feels strongly about only carrying stainless steel water bottles that are safe for the environment and safe for your health. All of the water bottles found at StainlessWaterBottles.com are reusable; lining-free; 100% recyclable; and made from BPA-, phthalate-, lead-, and toxin-free, food grade stainless steel.

Dr. Ben and StainlessWaterBottles.com would like to offer past SIGG customers a special opportunity and some help in replacing their SIGG water bottles. If you are interested in exchanging your SIGG bottle for a different company’s stainless steel water bottle, StainlessWaterBottles.com will be happy to give you a 20% discount on your water bottle of choice. We hope this will help in your search for safe and healthy reusable water bottles that you and your family can use in years to come. And, for orders over $[TK], free shipping is always included.

Dr. Ben and StainlessWaterBottles.com are Here to Help!

If you would like to hear more of Dr. Ben’s thoughts on the SIGG water bottle BPA fiasco, he was gracious enough to take some time out and sit with us for a in-depth Q & A, which can be found here on StainlessWaterBottles.org.

If you have any questions regarding safe water bottle choices let us know, Dr. Ben and the staff at StainlessWaterBottles.com are here to help! Feel free to call us at (800) 594-4916, comment down below, or email us at any time.