Sigg UK Eco-friendly Bottles review

Like most people, here at The Madhouse, we try to make eco-friendly, responsible choices as far as possible, but I don't want to lose out on convenience or quality. While I love the concept behind products such as reusable nappies, recycled toilet paper and Mooncups, in practice they just don't seem as appealing ! One thing you can do very simply though is move onto reusable drinking bottles. Not only is it better for the planet, it's also better for your kids because you can control more easily the amount of sugar, not to mention artificial colours and flavourings, that they consume when you're filling up their drinks bottles yourself rather than relying on shop-bought bottles and cans. It works out lighter on the pocket in the long-run too, so when SIGG UK said that they were looking for mums to review their eco-friendly reusable drinking bottles, I jumped at the chance.

While waiting for the bottles to arrive, I started researching what SIGG had to offer above and beyond all those other cheaper versions out there and I was actually really impressed with what I read. SIGG explain : "SIGG Bottles offer resilience and durability - they are Swiss made from a single piece impact extrude aluminium design which is unbeatable for longevity. SIGG bottles are chosen for their near unbreakable design, and the versatility they offer, being able to carry the full range of fluids including hot drinks for cold winter walking. The tough exterior is matched by equal robustness on the inside, with the lining able to withstand prolonged exposure to the acids in fruit juices and carbonated beverages, whilst also being suitable for alcoholic drinks, tea and coffee. The lining is baked on and is designed not to chip or crack, even if the bottle is dented, something which only the most brutal treatment is able to achieve." I must admit, I'm never usually sure if drinking bottles are designed to cope with fizzy drinks or hot drinks so it's great to know that Sigg bottles can cope with whatever you throw at them. But that's not the only advantage.

 Sigg continue : "It is the solidity of the design, both inside and out, which sees SIGG bottles enjoying a good 10 to 20 years of use, far exceeding that of plastic bottles which are lucky to survive a couple of years. Whilst the quality of construction and longevity is a major selling point, in recent years SIGG bottles have been developed into more of a fashion accessory, being the canvas for many a designer, most notably used in 2010 and 2011 by Vivienne Westwood in London Fashion Week." Well, you just have to take one look at the girls' faces to see what they thought of the designs ! I thought they would be fighting over the Hello Kitty one but 10-year-old Sophie actually preferred the more grown-up, shimmery purple one - which is probably just as well if they last 10-20 years because (and we had a good laugh at this !) she could be a mum by the time it needs replacing ! Even 2-year-old Pierre got very possessive of the smaller blue one and much prefers taking this on trips out now, rather than a baby bottle or sippy cup, which is great news because it is less likely to leak and the drinking spout keeps much cleaner.

If you have "chewers" in the family (Sophie never used to do it but both Juliette and Pierre have chewed their way through many a sippy cup spout in their formative years !), it's also great to learn that SIGG is the only manufacturer that offers a comprehensive range of spare parts and accessories that will enable you to refresh your bottle with a new top. This could be due to wear and tear or just because you want to change the style of the top as your kids get older.

I think there are already plenty of reasons there for choosing to swap over to a reusable drinking bottle but in case you still need convincing, SIGG also have some alarming facts and figures to make you think about just how big an impact something as simple as using single-use throwaway plastic bottles can have.

They explain : "Statistics do vary, but sources seem to agree: 

- In the UK alone 250,000 plastic bottles are dumped every hour. 

- Plastic bottles constitute close to 50% of recyclable waste in landfill sites. 

- Plastic not only adds to landfill space and takes 500 years to decompose but used plastic dumped into the sea kills and destroys sea life at an estimated 1,000,000 sea creatures per year!"

I showed these pictures to the girls and read the facts to them and they said that they'd never buy another bottle or can again and can they take their SIGGs to McDonalds at the weekend so that they can have their drinks filled directly from the dispenser without wasting cups ?! I'm not quite sure what the staff at McDonalds would say but it's great to see the girls thinking about simple things that they can do to reduce their carbon footprint.

SIGG would like Mummy Bloggers to get involved in their Campaign to ‘Make the World a Better Place’ so I threw the question over to the girls. Their reply was actually very clever and, I think, inspired by the pictures above : We should start trying to own LESS stuff rather than MORE stuff. Maybe then, there would be enough of everything in the world for everyone to share, even in poor countries. If only kids could be politicians !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : from £15.99

for more information : www.sigg.com

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