Despite the fact that the outdoor industry has long known about the presence of BPA (Bisphenol A) in water bottles, plastic liners and other wares, the presence of BPA didn't become a hot national issue until NBC's Today Show dedicated a significant segement toward the issue in April 2008. Immediately, the issue sparked the ire of Mommy bloggers who elevated companies producing BPA in water bottles (namely Nalgene) to baby-killing, lying, modern-day Phillip Morris'. (According to The National Institutes of Health, there is "limited evidence that bisphenol A has adverse effects on development" and that "there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures.")

While Nalgene was being raked across the coals, other companies—namely SIGG—gained huge ground with consumers on the premise of having "BPA-Safe" water bottles. Having watched, learned and profited on the misfortunes of Nalgene, CamelBak and others, you would think that SIGG would not screw around with the BPA issue... much less gleefully ride the "safe" wave while being less-than-transparent about the presence of it in their own bottles. As it turns out, SIGG did mislead the public about the presence of BPA in their bottles and recently offered a public apology.

Unfortunately for the company and their customers, they will pay dearly for this mistake. As the news broke, SIGG was swiftly and publicly dropped from major distributors including REI & Patagonia and now has a HUGE amount of trust to regain from their customers. The whole thing reminds me of the sage words: "It can take 20 years to build a good brand and just 5 minutes to destroy it."

(Sept 7, 2009 B.O.S.S. Report)—Patagonia has terminated all co-branding and co-marketing efforts with SIGG, Inc. It has come to Patagonia’s attention from recent news reports that a Bisphenol A (BPA) epoxy coating was used in most aluminum SIGG bottles manufactured prior to August 2008, despite earlier assurances from SIGG that the liners of their bottles did not contain the coating.  Patagonia said it does not support the use of BPA in consumer products, so the company has terminated its relationship with SIGG. In addition, Patagonia is ceasing the sale of SIGG bottles in its stores, as well as through its catalog and on-line distribution.

In a written statement, the company said, “Unfortunately, readers of Backpacker Magazine will notice a SIGG advertisement featuring Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s founder and owner, holding a SIGG bottle with a 1% for the Planet logo on it. This ad was created in an effort to support and promote 1% for the Planet, an alliance of companies that dedicate 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations, which was co-founded by Yvon Chouinard. Once Patagonia learned through media reports that SIGG bottles did indeed contain BPA in the liners, the company immediately terminated its co-marketing agreement with SIGG and attempted to remove ads from both Outside Magazine and Backpacker. The ads were successfully pulled from Outside. Unfortunately, Backpacker had already gone to print.”

“We did our homework on the topic of BPA, going all the way back to 2005 when this subject first emerged in discussions in scientific journals,” said Rick Ridgeway, Patagonia’s VP of environmental initiatives. “We even arranged for one of the leading scientists on BPA research to come to our company to educate us on the issue. Once we concluded there was basis for concern, we immediately pulled all drinking bottles that contained BPA from our shelves and then  searched for a BPA-free bottle.  We very clearly asked SIGG if there was BPA in their bottles and their liners, and they clearly said there was not.  After conducting such thorough due diligence, we are more than chagrined to see the ad that is appearing in Backpacker, but we also feel that with this explanation our customers will appreciate and understand our position.” Patagonia continues to support 1% for the Planet in all possible ways, but will no longer do so through co-promotion with SIGG.

With regard to Patagonia customer support, Patagonia is currently accepting returns of any SIGG bottle purchased through Patagonia and is offering its customers full refunds. All unused SIGG inventory on Patagonia retail store shelves is being returned to SIGG to be recycled - and the company is currently searching for another bottle vendor.