In The News: SIGG Finally Gets It

When SIGG neglected to alert consumers that their old bottles contained BPA, bloggers sounded off, and Facebook and Twitter users spread the word. The lesson to companies? In the Internet age, moms will use every available resource to keep their families safe.

By Kelly Alfieri

You've probably already heard by now that up until August 2008, SIGG bottle liners contained BPA. Since then, their bottles have been manufactured with a new eco-sleeve (internal lining) that contains no BPA. It was disappointing that SIGG omitted the fact that their products contained BPA.

To their credit, they recognized their mistake and are making amends by allowing customers to exchange their old bottles for new BPA-free ones.

Related: BPA-Free Baby Bottles

It has become too common for companies to not inform customers of the potential hazards of their products. This is the old way of doing things, and it doesn't work anymore. Pre-internet, it might have been easy enough to hide damaging information from consumers but that's no longer true. Take the case of SIGG -- dozens of mom bloggers sounded the alarm about the presence of BPA in SIGGs bottles. Blog readers told their friends, who posted it on their Facebook pages, who re-tweeted the news, and so on. In response, Steve Waski, CEO of SIGG, posted a letter that attempted to justify the use (and omission of the fact) of using BPA in their products (his explanation:  the bottles did not leach BPA). After the blogosphere erupted over his insensitivity to the issue, he wrote a second, more humbled and apologetic letter.

Related: Kids and Human Growth Hormone Therapy

"After reading and responding to hundreds of emails and viewing nearly as many blog & Twitter posts, I realize that my first letter may have missed the mark. What I should have said simply and loudly to all of our loyal SIGG fans is: I am sorry that we did not make our communications on the original SIGG liner more clear from the very beginning.

I have learned much over the past two weeks. I learned that many of you purchased SIGG bottles - not just because they were free from leaching and safe - but because you believed that SIGGs contained no BPA. I learned that, although SIGG never marketed the former liner as "BPA Free" we should have done a better job of both clearly communicating about our liner as well as policing others who may have misunderstood the SIGG message.

With this apology and exchange program, SIGG at least partially restored its tarnished reputation. Companies who manufacture children's products (and therefore market to mothers) often seem to miss two important facts about moms -- 1.) they will do whatever it takes to keep their kids safe 2.) they talk to one another. If there is a possibility of a hazard to their child, they are going to steer clear and they're going to tell all their friends about it. Still, rather than eliminate potentially unsafe products many companies seek to find a remedy in marketing.

Continue reading about the SIGG controversy and what else you need to know about BPA...

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