Whether you prefer your beverages hot or cold, there's no need to ever again slink out of the coffee shop feeling guilty. These reusable drink containers -- all BPA-free -- will keep you from wasting cups and bottles.
Prefer glass to plastic?
FAUCET FACE feels you. After all, glass is fully recyclable and never leaches chemicals. Its sturdy 14.4-ounce containers remind us of old-fashioned milk bottles and come emblazoned with mottoes intended to glamorize tap water. For each four sold, the company donates a sand filter to India, where many families lack clean water.
$15 ($25 for two)When your travel plans or space constraints call for a flexible liquid-toting solution, take along the Runway pouch from VAPUR. It's light, foldable (when empty), sleek, and enlivened by bold, couture-inspired patterns. A looped-in carabiner adds function. $10
Since you're on this site, you likely have a beyond normal love of hiking and/or public transportation.
LIBERTY BOTTLEWORKS lets you display both of those eco-passions with patriotism -- the company claims to produce the only made-in-the-USA metal water bottle and donates one percent of its proceeds to eco-causes. Its artist-driven designs include the
Topo and the
Mass Transit collections. $19Popular bottle maker SIGG SWITZERLAND collaborated with a rainforest-conservation campaign called Cuipo to produce this fully recyclable, 20-ounce aluminum bottle adorned with their mascot, "Steve the Sloth." It comes with an activation code; type it in on Cuipo's website and you get to save a square meter of Panamanian rainforest. $22
BOBBLE makes clear, squeezable, recycled-plastic containers whose colorful carbon filters purify tap water as you drink. Each one creates the filtered-water equivalent of 300 average-size commercial water bottles. $9 for the 13-ounce size shown
For a straightforward design that gleams but doesn't sweat, you can't do much better than a bright-colored stainless-steel bottle from
S'WELL. It's double-walled, so it keeps hot drinks hot for up to 12 hours and cold drinks cold for up to 24 -- and it's great for wine and beer too. S'well donates a portion of its proceeds to
WaterAid, a charity that helps the world's poorest people gain access to clean water.
$35 for the 17-ounce size, $45 for the 25-ounce sizeBamboo is a sustainable material, yes, but it happens to be an insulating one too. The
Bamboo Bottle uses the wood to hug a 17-ounce, recycled-glass interior. You can add a classic lid ($6) or a hot one ($8) that will keep your coffee piping. Also: The
BAMBOO BOTTLE CO. donates one percent of its proceeds to environmental nonprofits.
$20MASTRAD sells a double-glass-walled Travel Mug, which, in addition to being a handsome conversation piece, keeps your drink hot, your hand comfy, and anything inside from spilling out. $20
FACT: Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, and 58 billion paper coffee cups every year.
by Avital Andrews / photos (5) by Lori Eanes
This article originally appeared in Sierra magazine.
