Inhabitat » SIGG ECO BOTTLE DESIGN COMPETITION

April 26, 2007

SIGG ECO BOTTLE DESIGN COMPETITION

by Emily Pilloton

SIGG, SIGG water bottles, SIGGART, SIGG competition, aluminum water bottle, eco friendly water bottle, green water bottle, reusable water bottle, bottle design competition

One of the easiest things you can do to lead a greener life is to say no to disposable plastic water bottles. And one of our favorite companies, SIGG, makes this easy and stylish with their Swiss-designed aluminum, taste-inert, eco-friendly water bottles. And now they’ve announced their ‘What’s Your Eco-Style?’ bottle design competition in celebration of the recently passed Earth Day. The company is looking for YOU to design their next bottle to join their already fabulous and graphically-stunning collection of drinking vessels. Visit their website for more information on the competition, the company, and the unique manufacturing processes in which the bottles are made from a single hockey-puck sized piece of aluminum!

+ SIGG ‘What’s Your Eco-Style’ Competition

11 Responses to “SIGG ECO BOTTLE DESIGN COMPETITION”

Richie Says:

April 27th, 2007 at 9:25 am

Aluminum cookware is not reccomended because Aluminum is a reactive metal. When cooking, aluminum salts come loose into the food. It’s possible that Aluminum salts lodged in the brain cause Alzheimer’s disease. Granted, room temperature or cold water doesn’t cause aluminum to be as reactive as being heated does… but aluminum is not so safe to have our food and drink contained within at any temperature. Why not stainless steel ?

Elizabeth Says:

April 27th, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Richie, I’ve wondered the same thing. This product is so nice looking, but I thought one of the disadvantages of plastic bottles (even perminant ones) is that they give of quesionable substances as they (very slowly) decay. So I would have hoped these ones would be made of a less controversial material, but maybe for the next version.

Sara Says:

April 27th, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Hey guys-

I looked into this problem ( I also used to work for a high end cookware company) These bottles have an exceptional interior coating that will never leach, meaning that nothing will be able to break this coating-which is why these bottles are safe for alcohol, juices, carbonated beverages and the like. The problem with salt pitting and reactions with acid with aluminum is the result of non-treated aluminum (which is why high end cookware layers aluminum between stainless steel).
This non-leaching is why these bottles are so much safer than the plastic reusable ones…I found this information at http://www.mysigg.com when it was of concern to me
By the way, I use my bottle all the time…and I’m still here ;)

Richie Says:

April 27th, 2007 at 10:54 pm

Hi sara,

I went to their site and in the FAQ’a section someone mentions that their liner has discolored. This means that the liner has reacted with something it was storing. So the liner is reactive. Also, the liner has to be a plastic of some kind. Sigg uses some very shifty language when they address this. They say that the bottles are ‘FDA approved’ ‘ and ‘are independently tested’. So that means that the FDA hasn’t tested them in all ways. Whatever.

Guess what… Pepsi Cola cans have the same technology ! That’s right. They are aluminum cans with a polymer, or plastic (resin based product) liner. Could it be that these SIGG water botlles are glorified ‘Coca-Cola’ cans with a screwtop stopper ? When they make these SIGG bottles out of stainless steel I’ll get one.

Becks Says:

April 28th, 2007 at 2:58 am

I;ve used Sigg bottles for years and I love them. I’c never want to carry a stainless steel bottle around with me when I’m travelling / hiking!!!

What I actually logged in to say though, was that after spending the last couple of hours designing a fab bottle, I read the small print to discover that the competition is only open to residents of the US. This sucks. Why does the world have to be so US-centric???

thad Says:

May 1st, 2007 at 8:05 am

Richie said: “in the FAQ’a section someone mentions that their liner has discolored. This means that the liner has reacted with something it was storing. So the liner is reactive.”

The discoloration is not caused by a chemical reaction. Here’s the FAQ entry that Richie mentioned:

“I have noticed that my bottle’s inner coating has darkened, and there are dark spots on the base. What can I do about this?

These discolorations are caused by sugar deposits. Tip: thoroughly rinse out the bottle with hot water. To deal with heavier soiling, try a SIGG cleaning brush and SIGG Bottle Clean cleaning tablets.”

Will Says:

May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 am

Lots of discussion about a liner. It seems to me that it might be easier to simply drink from a vessel that is safe enough to be used without a liner.

Food grade stainless steel (#304) is inert and will not react with any beverage that one might choose to drink. No liner is required. High-end restaurants have utilized this material for years. It seems like it was only a logical progression for the re-usable water bottle industry to realize that steel is truly the most desirable material to use. Companies like Klean Kanteen offer some quality stainless steel bottles.

If leaching materials are your concern, then why would you pay for fashion when you can pay for peace of mind?

You might like to check out http://www.kleankanteen.com

Rhomea Says:

October 3rd, 2007 at 9:41 am

Becks : in cases like this and when US manufacturers won’t/don’t ship to overseas addresses, it is not because they are being “US-centric”. Don’t you think that everyone would like to have more sales, more free marketing, etc if they could? The reason many (not all) US companies can’t/won’t is that there exist in the EU (and elsewhere) diverse number of unharmonized laws regarding advertising, give-away contests, etc which have to be followed in each country. Never mind the cost of overseas shipping, national Customs duties, etc. Added together, these make such promotions daunting, at best, to be offered outside the true single market in the USA.

Ritchie: the answers to your correct questions…
A) liner
“6) The inside of the bottle is sprayed with a taste inert, food-compatible stove enamel and baked on (this is the stuff that makes your water NOT taste like aluminum)” http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/09/swiss-engineered-sigg-water-bottles/
B) why not SS?
SS is far harder and less malleable than aluminum hence one could not simply extrude the bottle and reshape it as easily (the above link shows the original “hockey puck”) try that with hardened SS. There is a reason why hi-end cookery products cost so much. it is not so easy. Alos their is the weight issue and of course, cost.
hope that helps…
A

Amy Says:

October 28th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

There are no definitive proof that drinking out of a aluminum bottle or can will cause these deposits to be left in a person’s brain. What the study discovered that aluminum is a by product of the brain AFTER someone has alzheimer’s. Soda cans have been used for years and all of the users have not developed the disease. My 93 year old grandmother has been drinking coke for many years and shows no signs of alzheimer’s.

Bob Says:

October 30th, 2007 at 4:58 am

Well, Amy, there is no “definitive proof” linking smoking and lung cancer, and there are lots of 93-year-old smokers still living. So, I guess that means cigarettes are healthy. Right?

I just bought a Sigg bottle and then realized it is not stainless steel. I too am concerned about the “polymer” lining (which could mean plastic, rubber or something similar). Even though the liner supposedly tests safe for certain chemicals, what about other chemicals that were not tested for? I will return my Sigg and buy a stainless steel bottle.