water bottle freaks

nothing says "sustainability" like a $50 water container

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Last weekend I found myself Carrie Bradshaw walk-running across Boston streets, doing errands during a heatwave. Irresponsible, I know. An hour in, I reached into my bag, and there it wasn’t: my emotional support water bottle.

I bought this black, glossy S’well in London two years ago. It hydrated me through many weekend jogs with friends, where we spent more time gossiping than jogging. It accompanied me through countless travel delays with many refills from grimy airport water fountains.

After losing several water bottles, I praised myself for not leaving this one on a metro seat or letting it roll under a piece of furniture. Yet here I was, sans bottle on a day I desperately needed it.

The long list of errands I usually enjoyed—a Target run, store returns, groceries, and maybe a short browse at a thrift store—suddenly felt like torture under the 95-degree heat, with no hope of a quick sip.

I could pop into a bodega for an ice-cold one and risk adding more single-use plastic to the waste stream when I have two—okay, four!!— reusable water bottles at home. No, out of principle I would not pay for water that day.

Waiting to catch my train uptown, I made a mental list of the other bottles that captured my heart—and wallet—over the years. I have a hefty HydroPeak jug for gym days when even lifting it to my mouth serves as a workout and a mini CamelBak that fits snugly into my fanny pack for hikes.

Of course, there are the many branded water flasks I accumulated in grad school—the only thing I got for free besides departmental lunches and crushing student debt.

The average American owns seven reusable water bottles and still buys bottled water while tap water remains free. Last year, the New York Times proclaimed us “water bottle freaks,” and I fear I am now one of them.

It’s difficult to pinpoint when the reusable bottle transitioned from sporty liquid container to glorified fashion accessory, but Ushma Mehta has some ideas.

“As a culture, we’ve become awash in water bottles,” she says. “So much so that they became something you collect, but not necessarily use.”

Ushma is a Co-founder and Partner at Think Zero, a consulting firm that helps companies achieve their waste-related sustainability goals. With her experience and my insights into hydration culture—as someone who, you know, drinks water—I pieced together a cultural history of the water bottles we own.

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1990s - Early 2000s: The Nalgene

Nalgenes were originally popular with outdoor sportspeople in the 1970s, who preferred this lightweight bottle for its durability. Brands like Patagonia and REI normalized wearing outdoor items beyond the trail through the 1990s. Suddenly, instead of rugged mountaineers, it’s your high school physics teacher sipping from a Nalgene.

As a teenager, I had a lime green Nalgene that marked the beginning of my obsession with GORPcore and outdoor culture. Next came my carabiner-as-hipster-keychain, my hiking boots, and my pride and joy: a fishing vest.

2004 - 2010s: The Klean Kanteen

Concerns over BPA in plastic led to a surge in metal bottles, with brands like Klean Kanteen leading the charge. In 2002, the company debuted the first reusable stainless steel water bottle free of aluminum and BPA liners, which they claimed made it safer and more sustainable.

Founder, Robert Seals designed the first bottle with materials from his local hardware store, and it showed. Kanteen bottles were spare and utilitarian, but their message was clear: Drink from a reusable bottle and save piles of plastic from polluting the planet.

2010s - 2015: The S’well

This was the first to blend fashion with function and ultimately became the MacBook of water bottles. S’well came in an array of patterns and looked chic while perched on a desk or sitting comfortably in a tote bag. I came across a S’well during my first year of college in my campus bookstore. Against its sleek industrial design, my neon Nalgene suddenly looked clunky and childish—I chucked it and never looked back.

2015 - 2019: The Contigo v. Hydroflask v. Yeti Wars

The reusable water bottle market became crowded with options promising less spillage and better insulation. Contigo emerges with leak-proof technology perfect for commuters. Hydro Flask becomes the hydration choice for the younger set. There are “smart” models that glow to remind you to drink and luxury bottles adorned with precious gems.

We start to lose the plot when companies offer branded, promotional water bottles. Conferences give out free water bottles and workplaces inundate employees with all manner of water flasks.

“My child went to a sleepover and was gifted a customized water bottle with her name on it,” says Ushma.

Water bottles pile up in the lost and found section of airports, schools, and hotels. I see shelves and shelves of them in every retail store, gas station, and even at my local thrift store.

There are more reusable water bottles than we’re physically able to use.

2020s: The Stanley Tumbler

A global pandemic hits and we are all trapped in our homes. You hear chatter online about a viral water bottle that fulfills all of your hydration needs. You visit a friend in your quarantine bubble just to escape your house, and you notice they’re sipping from a Stanley.

They say that since purchasing The Stanley, they have achieved optimal hydration. They no longer have sleep issues. Their skin has cleared up, and their arms are newly toned from lugging the bottle from room to room. You realize everyone around you has one: from the dental hygienist who cleaned your teeth to the retired teacher who refuses to curb their dog in front of your house.

Later, during your evening doom scroll, you see an ad for The Stanley. You click. The cup comes in every color imaginable, even ones you don’t imagine. Am I a Hot Pink Older Divorceé Stanley or a Terracotta Morning Yoga Stanley? For $45 plus shipping, you’re eager to find out. You decide to sleep on it.

You reopen the page the next morning. In the harsh light of day, you realize this is literally a container for water.

You divest from the Hydration Industrial Complex entirely. You wait for it to rain and run outside with your mouth open.

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Ushma and I conclude that reusable bottles have gone the way of the reusable tote bag: We all have too many and can’t remember to use them to save our lives. In an attempt to reduce waste, we created more of it.

Perhaps the problem isn’t that we forget to use our water bottles, but that there are so few places to get free water in public. Clean water advocates have sounded the alarm for years on the disappearance of public water fountains and their importance for our health.

That day running errands in the heat, I came across no water fountains from which to drink. Though I heard that local bars and restaurants must provide free tap water to anyone who asks, I was hesitant to test that out.

If you live in a place with unsafe tap water, your reliance on bottled water increases exponentially. But if you’re privileged enough to have access to clean tap water, consider using those refillable water flasks you’ve hoarded over the years.

“Single-serving water bottles may be more convenient, but they’re not necessarily better for you,” Ushma says. “Bottled water is shipped and transported all around the world, and during that process, it degrades.”

Resources

• The Environmental Working Group has a national tap water quality index, look up your community here.

• If you’re concerned about contaminants in your tap water, explore top-rated filters here.