SIGG alert

My mom's new water bottle. Isn't it cute?

I can't believe I forgot to write about the other green gift I got for my mom for Christmas. Besides reusable grocery bags, I got her a SIGG water bottle.

When I went home for Christmas I couldn't believe the woman was still buying cases of bottled water. They litter her spotless kitchen like red cups the day after a frat party. Hello, didn't we all stop buying water bottles like a year ago because all those plastic bottles are such a waste, even if you are recycling them? (I found this shocking stat online: Americans use 2.5 million bottles every hour. Hopefully that's now a little out of date).

For my birthday last March my sister got me a reusable plastic bottle from Henry's and I've been using it almost every day since (it probably could use a good washing). That's what I wanted to get my mom but they didn't have any at Whole Foods. All they had was aluminum water bottles, which have become the de rigeur way to transport your water. (It's supposed to be safer than plastic because there's no concern over leaching chemicals). I wasn't sure if my mom was an aluminum bottle type but I was swayed by the fact that SIGG is a Swiss company, and since my mom fell in love with Switzerland when she visited my sister when she lived there, I knew she'd like carrying around something Swiss.

I've gotta give it to the aluminum bottles, they're a lot more fun than my plain blue plastic bottle. My sister and I picked out a cute white bottle with a field and ladybug design. My mom was definitely surprised and up for ditching her disposable plastic water bottles. I felt better that she'd actually use it when it passed the test of fitting under the water dispenser on the fridge so she can fill it easily. She said she'd have to buy a new water filter, which I guess is partly why she was still buying bottled water (that and habit).

The only drawback to aluminum over reusable plastic bottles is the cost. Instead of being just a couple bucks, the SIGG bottle cost $25. I might have been able to find it cheaper online but since it was Christmas Eve I didn't have time for that. My co-worker bought his online from the SIGG website a while ago, but he was one of the first to get on the aluminum bottle bandwagon before they sold them in stores. With being green so hip these days, it only takes months for a trend to take hold. Now this stuff is everywhere. I think it's kind of funny that my mom, carting around her SIGG bottle, is now cooler than I am. I might have to break down and get one of my own.

At treehugger.com, I read that the results of independent tests conducted by SIGG show that the bottles don't leach BPA. The study found:

• Polycarbonate #7 plastic bottles – 71 ppb (parts per billion) were leached into the water.
• Chinese-made aluminum water bottles – 19 ppb
• New SIGG bottles – no detectable BPA
• Used SIGG bottles (2 years old) – no detectable BPA