The Great Water Bottle Debate

As the great water bottle debate rages on -- plastic vs metal vs glass -- I had the opportunity to test some recent editions to the market this past week. Now, let me give you some background about this "great debate". Basically, water bottle's have gotten an extreme makeover in the last few years. Studies have shown that the world consumes more than 200 billion single-serve bottles of water per year. Can you even imagine what that looks like in terms of the volume of waste? Re-useable bottles eliminate the need for the continuous manufacturing of plastic water bottles, litter, and pollution in general. So, consumers have taken to the streets demanding more options, in terms of design, functionality and of course chemical-free alternatives. A few key brands have rolled out some pretty impressive new concepts, including updated, quirky colors and materials, and dishwasher safe glass silhouettes.

Lifefactory fuses a modern sensibility, eco-friendly composition, and exceptional construction to produce glass water bottles (and baby bottles!) that are free of known harmful chemicals including BPA, phthalates, and PVC. They come in a range energetic colors, AND have figured out a way to balance out the weight of the glass by cutting excessive bulk with a sleek, silicon casing.

bobble, specializes in a new concept known as "portable filteration". They are designed with an activated carbon filter, which has a slight electro-positive charge that attracts impurities and chemicals. As the water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the carbon granules. Bobble's carbon-based filter removes organic contaminants from regular municipal tap water and meets or exceeds NSF International Standard 42 for chlorine, taste and odor reduction.

Bamboo Bottle Co., has JUST hit retail as well, designed for durability, this environmentally friendly bottle is made with BPA-free glass and encased in natures favorite renewable resource -- Bamboo. Bamboo is not only fast-growing and "stronger than steel", it minimizes carbon dioxide and generates up to 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. Since this bottle is a bit more bulky than the others, due to the weight of the glass and the bamboo, I have been keeping it at my desk and I couldn't be happier.

So America, toss those dingy, toxic, pedestrian bottles and hop on the hydration trend train with me, it has never been this easy to look good and feel good, while helping out the environment.