[Blue Plastic Straw]

These bottles are all the rage on college campuses, and I've seen them recommended in a couple of places on VB, so I wanted to bring something up that I just found out recently. The company that makes the bottles likes to market itself as a crunchy-granola-environmentally-conscious, but their main business comes from manufacturing and marketing lab equipment. This equipment includes cages and restraints used in animal testing.

I'm really glad I did some research before I bought any of their products and found out more about their background. I bought a Lexan bottle made by GSI at REI that was the same price as the Nalgene ones.

I hope anyone who's interested in animal welfare will think twice before purchasing a Nalgene product and will get the word out about their "other" business.

[epski]

Crap. I just bought a couple of these a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately. Too late to send them back. I had a bad customer service experience anyway, so now I have TWO reasons to never buy from them again.

[chiaraluna]

DANG it. I love my Nalgene... Now I just don't feel right ever buying another.

And I was planning on getting some fun-colored ones, too. :(

[Kreeli]

what's the appeal of nalgene bottles? my husband has one that he got years ago, but it just seems like your average, run of the mill reuseable water bottle. is it just a brand name thing?

[chiaraluna]

I got mine having never heard of/seen one before... I just loved that they were available in so many colors, so many sizes, that they are not crushed by my destructive nature, that they were easily available. I am sure that I will be able to find a satisfactory replacement; I'm just attached to the one that I have now. :)

[SallyK]

Thanks for posting this. My Nalgene bottle with the small opening is getting worn out and I was thinking of replacing it. I won't be buying another Nalgene now. I appreciate the heads-up.

[Peebs]

If you have time you should write them to say why you won't buy from them.

[Blue Plastic Straw]

Kreeli said:

what's the appeal of nalgene bottles? my husband has one that he got years ago, but it just seems like your average, run of the mill reuseable water bottle. is it just a brand name thing?

The popularity of Nalgene bottles has really exploded in the last couple years. They're one of those fad items that college age people pick up on and then develop strong brand loyalty. Lexan bottles are really cool because they're fairly indestructable and won't crack or leak. Nalgene has really cornered the market by getting their product into college book stores with school logos and stuff.

[Blue Plastic Straw]

Peebs said:

If you have time you should write them to say why you won't buy from them.

Good point Peebs. The addresses to write to can be found on this website.

[epski]

Shows how out of touch I am. Hadn't heard of them until I did a search at Amazon for refillable water bottles.