SIGG IT

The next time you want to purchase an innocent bottle of water, think twice. Not only does the plastic harm the environment, it can possibly harm your health.

PET or PETE plastic is one of the most common consumer plastic used to make packaging materials such as bottles and containers for packaging a wide range of food products and other consumer goods. Examples include soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and edible oils. It is made from a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, or “PET” for short. It is recyclable and reclaimed PET is used to make products such as fibres for carpets, fibrefill, apparel and geotextiles and possibly PET bottles.

Whilst PET bottles are recyclable to reduce the plastic pile up on our planet, according to the January 2006 Journal of Environmental Monitoring, some PET bottled-water containers were found to leach antimony, an elemental metal that is an eye, skin, and lung irritant at high doses. Also, because the plastic is porous, one may likely get a swill of harmful bacteria with reused PET plastic bottles.

So for those who are always on the go, SIGG, a Swiss reusable and recyclable aluminium bottle, has interesting designs to suit each individual. Bottled water has never looked better nor taste sweeter. Now where is that water cooler?

Available at Outdoor Life.