Stainless Steel

Recently I have been researching the stainless steel water bottle. There are many out there.

Obviously they are a good choice for the reduction of waste versus their competition; the plastic bottle. However, I kind of look at myself as somewhat over the top with my green efforts (especially when it comes to stuff I would be willing to promote through my store) and I started to ask many of the bottle producers difficult questions. I asked the easy ones first, of course, like are they BPA free and lead free? Is the plastic used on the lid and mouth piece made from a food grade plastic? Most of the time I received standard answers of yes. Then I got a bit tougher. I started to ask if they were third party tested. Some hesitated and politically answered with "we couldn't state that they were BPA free if they weren't really BPA free"....not really answering the question, but I moved on anyway. Then came the biggie! I asked, "do you have a third-party audit on the factory to ensure that the people who make the bottles are paid a fair wage?" Wow! What a conversation stopper that one became. I did find a company that could answer yes to all my questions and even prove that they were over the top conscious just like me! So, needless to say....their bottles are the only ones I'm carrying! However, I got one response that made me feel a little sick. The woman at one company (who will remain unnamed) said she would not even ask her manufacturer something like that and followed that comment up with "none of the people over there are paid fairly!" For me, that was a conversation stopper. I was stunned at the lack of conscience....the lack of humanity in her voice.....the lack of empathy. Wow. Had she never seen the story of stuff? www.storyofstuff.com

But, that is what I do....I search, I ask the tough questions and then I bring the best that I can find into my store and try to let people know about the better choices available. Granted, they may not be the cheapest choices, but they are triple-bottom-line choices that I feel good about.

This blog is my way of sharing some of the valuable ideas that have come along the way from other business owners, customers and like-minded, eco-conscious people who have shared them with me. I hope this one makes you think twice about picking up the really cheap stainless steel bottle....perhaps it will cost you little...but it may be costing someone else quite a bit.