It takes a plastic water bottle one thousand years to decompose.
This is where my die-hard commitment to eco-friendly water bottles enters the chat. Why buy when you can refill? I did my homework and came up with my favorite eco-friendly water bottles so you can skip straight into the "no thanks, I bought my own bottle" club.
When shopping for a sustainable alternative to plastic bottles, I like to look at the product's 'portfolio of green.' It's like a gentle vetting process where I assess if a product is aligned with my values and tastes. Yumious 20 oz's clean, green shines as an A-student.
This sustainable water bottle is free from all the bad stuff (BPA, PVC, Lead, and Cadmium) and provides durability without any added heaviness. I loved how easily transportable it was for workouts, meetings, and couch lounging without any fuss. I am a sucker for glass because it's sustainable, it looks great, and cleaning is as easy as popping it into the dishwasher.
The transparent vessel guards against slips- there are several color options to match your style.
My favorite part, however, is the inclusion of bamboo in the lid. My biggest gripe with reusable water bottles has been their lids, and my oh my, does this lid make up for past grievances. The bamboo lid is not only hygienic and inherently sustainable but is leak-proof, as proved during a rather energetic dance session.
If looking for criticism, I could see this bottle breaking if you aren't careful. But with these kinds of purchases, they take care of you as long and as well as you take care of them- much like our planet, no?
With glass, silicone, and bamboo at play in a charming aesthetic, it's no wonder this eco-friendly water bottle shines as my top pick.
As it is with most things, simplicity is key. When making the changeover to greener choices, a 'less-is-more' approach makes the transformation less intimidating, which is why I love the Klean Kanteen 18oz bottle for reusable water bottle newbies.
The stainless steel drinking bottle is free of toxins and plastics, boasting a BPA-free composition so food-safe and toxin-free that it needs no plastic or epoxy lining like so many of its aluminum counterparts.
Klean Kanteen further woos with its wide top (for the easy adding of ice and fruit), its impressive color options, and the sheer volume of water held- enough to not need to top up regularly without being so heavy that it's a burden to lug around.
The sports cap top easily flips up, which means it was my go-to come my much-dreaded but never-regretted spinning marathons every Tuesday evening. While the color options were a delightful draw card, it must be said that keeping the color spiffin' took work and care as the paint easily chips or scratches off.
That said, sustainable purchases are best paired with an increased sense of care and commitment to product maintenance. After all, the longer one keeps something, the less waste one creates, so take care. I recommend the Klean Kanteen as an excellent entry-level into the wonders of reusable water bottles.
Now, whereas the Klean Kanteen Water Bottle was my recommendation for water bottle newbies, EcoVessel steps in as the heavy-hitting, specs-riddled veteran.
Since we're here celebrating sustainability, I'm going to lead with the fact that this bottle is much like the love of a penguin in that it's for life, baby. EcoVessel's Boulder Triple Insulated Bottle is a one-time purchase. It is made of triple-insulated (operating like a hydro flask), toxin-free (no BPA, phthalates, and liners), and dent-resistant stainless steel.
When I read the temperature maintaining claims, they seemed extravagant, to say the least! Boy, was I wrong? Tea I'd made hours before back-to-back meetings? Still piping hot! The icy water I packed for a day-long hike? Freezing and knocking about cubes from the foot of the climb to its apex.
My only "sigh" is that the replaceable parts seem to not be made with the same level of expertise and fine-tuning as the main vessel. I found the filter tray to be a bit poor, with me fishing tea leaves and whole spices out of my mouth after a few sips. I countered this by using reusable mesh teabags to hold things that might filter out - a surprise lifehack actually in that it made the overall (and already blissfully easy) cleaning of the bottle much easier.
I recommend this bottle for anyone looking for "the one"- a lifelong partner that can stoke the fire but also help you keep your cool.
If the sleek meeting point of aesthetic and design revs your engine, I've got the eco-friendly water bottle for you. Behold the effortless elegance of the Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel bottle. Not only does she offer an impressive 36oz holding capacity but adds multi-purpose to what is already multiple-use.
The double wall vacuum insulation means your drink of choice will maintain its temperature whether you're drinking icy water on a hot, busy day or hot herbal tea in the colder seasons.
The durable stainless steel composition not only holds temperature but does so in a plastic- and toxin-free vessel. Add to this the fact that it's easy to clean, and I barely minded that the mouth was a little smaller than I was used to and required the purchasing of smaller ice cube trays (genuinely worth it!).
I recommend this reusable water bottle for anyone looking for a sophisticated insulated water bottle that will see you through Summer and Winter. Bonus points for these eco-friendly water bottles teaching us that you can be a waste-busting tall drink of water and look damn cool while doing so.
As with sustainability, we often do need to reinvent the wheel. Whether it's an improved design, a reimagining of composition, or a cultural reset regarding how we use everyday objects in our day-to-day, a sustainable lifestyle comes with constant innovation and rethinking. This is exactly why I LOVE SquireMe's Y1 Glass Water Bottle - a new frontier of glassware.
Fortified with handmade Borosilicate glass, these water bottles offer added strength, thermo-regulation, and lightness to what is already toxin-free and aesthetically pleasing (not to mention sustainable as heck). I loved the unique rounded rectangular shape, which some found difficult or awkward to hold, but I've been blessed with the grip and dexterity of your average Orangutan and found no issues there. Bonus points for its easy-to-open lid, a rarity in the sustainable water bottle game!
I noticed that the added cool factor made me more flashy and precious about how I used this bottle. It was much like an Apple Watch or eccentric pair of goofy socks- a message to the world about who I am and what I like. The shape, composition, and added sustainable elements made this both trendy and timeless- a line I love to walk. I recommend this for anyone who likes to sip and save and look effortlessly cool while doing so.
The most sustainable water bottles combine ethically-sourced, toxin-free materials with durability (preferably a lifetime warranty). In exact opposition to the plastic bottles they displace, sustainable water bottles are multi-purpose and often multi-use, which adds economic benefits to what is already high-scoring for health and earth conservation.
Single-use plastic water bottles are huge offenders in the pollution game. Our everyday need for hydration means plastic water bottle products fly off the shelves. One simply needs to look around to see they rarely fly, with the same gusto, into their allotted trash or recycling cans.
Litter aside, the very bottling process of these vessels sees a whopping 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. This combination of physical and chemical pollution makes water bottles quite the nemesis in the growing green collective to reduce waste.
If we are to drink 8 cups of water a day, then it only makes sense to have a trusty, multiple-use drinking bottle on standby. It's very easy for people, especially those at the beginning of their zero-waste journey, to underestimate their power- been there, done that.
Something as seemingly innocuous as the purchasing of a sustainable water bottle can, in their enduring lifespans, displace hundreds- if not thousands- of single-use counterparts that will no longer find themselves in landfills, polluting natural and urban landscapes, or adding demand to a toxin-riddled production process.
Start off with a no-fuss intro bottle like the Klean Kanteen 18oz water bottle. Once you've familiarised yourself with reusable bottle life (because, trust me, you will lose, break, and forget it many times), you can branch out into vessels with a little more to flex. I adore my go-to- the Yomious 20 Oz water bottle for combining the holy trinity of sustainable materials and looking cute while doing so. If you'd like to skip intros and the 'dating around' of it all, then I recommend you just commit and do the most sustainable option of all- the for-life Biome's EcoVessel Boulder Triple Insulated Bottle!
Whether you're going to try things out or submerge yourself into a forever purchase, welcome to the world of sustainable water bottles- may you sip, save, and never look back.
Once you've secured your new reusable water bottle, here's our "How to Clean a Steel Water Bottle" article if need be!
