Will Gainok, Klean Kanteen - California, USA

When headlines began announcing that plastic water bottles might not be so safe for your health — or for the local landfill — companies like California’s Klean Kanteen were ready for it.

Headquartered In the Northern Sacramento Valley town of Chico, the fledgling firm manufactures one of the hottest new consumer must-haves: the stainless steel water bottle.

But it’s more trend than trendy that has made Klean Kanteen bottles so popular; it’s the general movement toward health — personal and environmental — that helped their business triple last year.

“It looks like we’re on track to do that again this year, maybe even quadruple,” enthuses 29-year-old Will Gainok, Klean Kanteen’s awareness representative.

To say that the science pointing an accusatory finger at plastics has been good for sales is more than an understatement.

“We’ve gone from six to 20 employees at our facility in California in the past year,” adds Gainok.

And with stories about plastic water bottles leaching synthetic hormones into our bodies and clogging landfills by the tonne, Klean Kanteen continues to grow its trade. Every newspaper and magazine seems to be another free “ad”.

“It’s been getting a lot of national press and that is no doubt what is relating to our dramatic rise in business,” says Gainok. “This week we’re in Time magazine for example, and next month we’re in Reader’s Digest.”

Those headlines villainize single-use hard plastic water bottles (most often the kind containing designer water) that are made of a substance called PET (polyethylene terephthalate). PET degrades with use and its hard-to-clean surface can host a petri dish full of germs (as can the backwash invariably left behind after every swallow).

Reusable water bottles merit scrutiny as well. The polycarbonate can leach BPA (Bisphenol A), a synthetic hormone disruptor that, scientists say, can lead to permanent changes in the genital tract, a decline in testosterone, breast cells and prostate cells predisposed to cancer, and hyperactivity.

“It’s pretty accepted that BPA mimics estrogen,” notes Gainok, “and that’s a big problem for pregnant women and developing children.”

While cancer, diabetes, obesity, and organ damage have all been linked to the plastics in drinking bottles, Gainok — who holds a degree in environmental science — said the scary facts aren’t something Klean Kanteen has jumped on to pump up sales.

“We don’t try to push that. We’re not trying to scare people,” he says. “We don’t advertise that if you don’t drink out of our bottle you’ll get cancer.” And every time another plastic bottle is tossed in the trash we’re giving our planet a form of cancer. More than 60 million are discarded daily.

“It’s staggering,” says Gainok, explaining the environmental costs of producing the plastic bottles in the first place. (An estimated 17 million barrels of oil are required to make the billions of plastic bottles purchased annually.)

“The production cost is pretty intensive (one kilogram of PET requires 17.5 kg of water and emits half a dozen significant pollutants). The bottles are often sent elsewhere to be filled (with water) and then somewhere else to be sold.” A Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle, ensures Gainok, can last a lifetime. And in a world inundated by a water bottle culture, that means big savings for health and planet.

From 12 to 40 oz sizes, Klean Kanteens retail from $15 to $26 and include a variety of cap styles — all of which are interchangeable between bottle sizes. The sports cap, for instance, has a pull-up spout, convenient for on-the-go sips. Another has a loop to hook onto a carabiner. And the “sippy” cap allows the bottle to morph into a Klean Kanteen suitable for a toddler. The company hasn’t so much invented water carrying, but has adapted the traditional big, round steel canteen favoured by soldiers and boy scouts.

“The idea isn’t new,” admits Gainok. “We’ve just brought it back in a more user-friendly shape. And now you’re using it every day; it’s not just a camping item. I don’t go anywhere without mine.”

And coming this spring… colour. Klean Kanteen is adding pizzazz to its rather utilitarian-looking stainless steel-coloured stainless steel bottles. A touch of whimsy will see the product line in everything from sleek black eclipse to pink renewal, and even one called tree bark. Water never tasted (or looked) better.