Mountain Equipment Coop Stops Selling Bisphenol-A
By Jenn | December 13, 2007
Mountain Equipment Co-op “is Canada’s leading supplier of outdoor clothing and equipment”, and is a vision to behold– I had the opportunity to visit the store in Vancouver, B.C. this past summer and, as a gearhead geek, I was left swooning by the block-long shop filled with outdoors equipment. Backpacks, stoves, sleeping bags, hiking boots, wicking shirts, pretty things! I didn’t buy a single item, but I liked touching all of it. And I was really happy to finally have the MEC experience, because I’d long heard of this magical Co-op: “In order to buy or rent gear from MEC, you must be a member. A one-time purchase of a $5.00 CAD share entitles you to a lifetime individual membership.” And boy, I do love the Co-op ethic.
So when Mountain Equipement Co-op (kind of like the EMS or REI of the North) stops selling Nalgene bottles, people listen. And that’s just what they did this week– stopped selling polycarbonate (mostly-Lexan, mostly-Nalgene) water bottles, because they most likely leech Bisphenol-A (among other things, a hormone disruptor) into the water they hold:
I interpret this to meant that MEC can’t really decipher the reports any better than I can, and even they’re not sure if those polycarbonate bottles pose a health risk. But they’re playing it safe by declaring them unsafe, which is a bold move– colorful n’ cool Nalgene bottles are surely a moneymaker for them.
Interestingly, I found this (clearly super-outdated) article on the MEC site, asserting their belief that polycarbonate water bottles are safe for consumers: “More people are using reusable polycarbonate water bottles, especially in the outdoors. But do these bottles have an impact on our health? We don’t believe so.” It’s great to see that they’ve stayed on top of this issue and are not afraid to change their stance on serious topics, sales numbers be damned, in light of new evidence. Go MEC! (and, you should probably remove that article from your server).
So what are the alternatives? We’ve outlined some reusable water-bottle options here, and of course the best advice we can give is this: use what you’ve already got… clean glass spaghetti-sauce jars (or mason jars of any type) make unbeatable water holders! But I’ll tell you, I’m not giving up my Sigg bottle any time soon.
[Image via Home Air Purifier Expert and Kristen Lou]
Related posts:
- Down With BPA
- FDA Says BPA A-OK
- More BPA News
- Water Bottles, Again…
- Shocker: FDA BPA Study Flawed
- What makes an expert?
- Mason Jars & Further Water Bottle Insanity
Topics: Health |
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Hi Marsha– just checked out the Swellz.com site, and, while I love the idea of a collapsable water carrier (and who doesn’t love the classic bota?), I’m less enamoured of the leather exterior which your products have. Can you explain why you feel that this use of animal products is necessary, especially in a product (bota-type water carrier) which does such a good job at replacing an evil disposable petroleum-based product (disposable water bottles)? To my mind, it seems like you’ve got it half-right, which is great! But the use of leather in this application just seems unneccessary to me.
First let me say in the spirit of FULL DISCLOSURE, one of the companies I am a partner in sells water bottles. My pr agency (www.erichopr.com) has partnered with another agency (Digobrands.com) and have formed Tappening (tappening.com). While we have no inventory because we sold out in our first week, we have continued to be VERY active making sure people knew the facts about bottled water. We’ve repeatedly said in every press interview we do, that we don’t care whether you buy our bottle or Nalgene’s or any other competitor…just know the facts about the 28 billion bottles of bottled water we buy every year and the consequences that has on our environment. And people are listening. Almost 700,000 in a month at our website. And just as the mainstream media and many. many environmental groups are starting to be heard, MEC pulls their inventory over a story that is a decade old and has yet to reach a real conclusion. Yikes. What a coincidence? It’s not a new story, yet somehow it’s getting it’s 15 minutes of fame. Or more? Although I refuse to fan the fire, you have to wonder?
So here’s my message…stop drinking from any bottle that makes you nervous…but don’t pick bottled water before you know the facts or the bottled water companies who “coincidentally” will benefit from this old news suddenly being new news win. I sell polycarbonate bottles. I knew of these issues before ever starting. We closely examined the science and we came to the conclusion that they are safe. If it ever turns out that there is conclusive science that they are not, we’ll move along. But please make sure you know the FACTS and don’t go back to drinking bottled tap water. That’s what is important here.
Hey Eric, you make a very interesting point– I hadn’t tied this story to the crunch that bottled water sellers are starting to feel from the surge in public knowledge of the evils of bottled water. On one hand, you may be right– and thanks for making the point which I negelected to actually say, which is that single-use bottles of water are one of the biggest scourges we face, and that, in most industrialized places, tap water is the way to go.
On the other hand, this Bisphenol-A panic isn’t being linked only to water bottles, but also baby bottles– a friend just told me that he’s been hearing about this all over the place in the parenting world, and that he and his wife just spent gobs of money on purchasing new bisphenol-A-free baby bottles. So, you know, I’m not necessarily convinced of your theory that this is a conspiracy started by the bottled-water companies. But hey, you never know! It totally could be! I’m kind of a closet fan of conspiracy theories anyway, so I’m going to think more on this one.
BTW, love your site!
I love that MEC is saying: we would like the federal government to say that these bottles are SAFE, instead of waiting for them to say that they’re UNSAFE.
Totally! I mean, honestly, it’s not like they *want* to stop selling one of their most popular products, you know? And hey, they’re not afraid to backpeddle, either! :)
Hi Guys,
There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace right now. The bottom
line is that any aluminum bottle is lined with epoxy which is a
plastic or ceramic resin. To the best of my knowledge it
is the only wide mouth stainless steel bottle on the market which has
the same threads as a Nalgene. Check them out at
www.guyotdesigns.com.
i’m left feeling like i can’t drink out of anything?
and the question still stands– what to do with those old evil leeching nalgenes?
Well honestly, I’m probably going to keep using my old Nalgenes when I go hiking and such. I’ve brought my Siggs on the trail and they get dropped and dinged and damaged, so I think it’s best if I leave them at home in those situations and take my chances on the bisphenol front. But I won’t use them often, and I won’t buy more. To my mind, the goodness-hierarchy of water bottles is this: glass; stainless steel; coated aluminium, plastic.
No conspiracy theory! Just a distraction from the main issue. Drink your own tap water out of whatever you feel is safest. And if you don’t think bottled water is bad for the environment, check www.tappening.com and then see if you feel a little differently?
we totally agree that tap water is the safest, best option! you can check out our standard “I am a civil engineer and our tap water is Darn Safe” message in our Q&A on brita water filters.
Hi all. On a total total side note, I just want to mention that REI is actually a co-op, too. Anyone can shop there, but it is a co-op.
Good point! I always forget that, because it’s open for everyone to shop there. I’m more used to the dictatorish Coop model. :)
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