Non-Profit Eco Canteen Makes Cheap, Affordable Reusable Stainless Steel Water Bottles
Editor’s note: Please read the comments below. This company has come under scrutiny by consumers.
I’ve been noticing more and more people from all walks of life using metal water bottles. At about half the price of other stainless steel water bottles, non-profit Eco Canteen’s mission is to get as many people as possible off of bottled water, since 80% of plastic water bottled are not recycled. Of the plastic water bottles that do make it to the recycling center, 40% of them end up in China or Indonesia.
Here are some staggering statistics about the detrimental environmental effects of plastic water bottles:
- 2.5 million disposable water bottles are thrown away in the US every hour.
- In 2007, $16 billion was spent on bottled water.
- 20 oz. of bottled water costs almost as much as a gallon of gas.
- Discarded plastic water bottles take 700 to 1,000 years to break down.
- A 20 oz. bottle of water takes 5 oz. of oil to produce and ship.
- Dioxin, one of the deadliest air pollutants, is created when unrecyclable PVC is separated from PET/PETE #1 plastic water bottles and then incinerated.
Switching to a reusable stainless steel water bottle is a simple step your family can take to be greener.
David and Eco Child’s Play,
Thank you for linking back to my Eco Canteen Review!
I’ve had several reader complaints about this company, as you can see in the article.
I decided to leave my review up, only so people would have access to the reader comments at the bottom. It does seem that this company is running a scam, so buyer beware.
You would have to be very careless with your health to use ANY water bottle made in China. Period.
I don’t care what the name of the bottle is or what the company says they do to protect you.
Find a bottle made in the USA or possibly in a country such as UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, etc…any modern country - but under no circumstances China.
All I can say is they are a total ripoff and fraud.
Don’t even visit the site. I made the mistake of entering the first page. Then all I go were upsells that no longer made the bottle even competitive. Plust the socalled free insulator cover, comes with a charge of $4.95 shipping which should be covered by the bottle’s shipping.
I smelled a skunk so I didn’t finish the order. Well surprise surprise, not only did they enter my order but added extras. All legitimate businesses give you one final chance to change your order or cancel it, but not these people. Once you start, you bought it.
Of course untill after the order they tell you a minimum of 4-6 weeks shipping and even then no guarantee when it will be shipped, and from what I have read since, if it ever ships.
And no legitimate phone or email for customer service. I wonder why???
[...] about stainless steel water bottles being generally better for you than plastic ones (some more dubious than others) are generally spot-on, you can’t squeeze stainless, and sometimes, you just [...]
[...] about stainless steel water bottles being generally better for you than plastic ones (some more dubious than others) are generally spot-on, you can’t squeeze stainless, and sometimes, you just [...]
Eco-Canteen charged me $20.89 for the bottle and insulated tote–both of very poor quality.
I returned mine the next day–had to pay return shipping myself. I called and asked if they would download a shipping label but they said no. They returned only $9.99 to my credit card. The bottle was that much without the insulated tote, which was $4.95. I feel like they have scammed me. I certainly will never buy from them or recommend them to anyone.
I want to add my cautionary tale to the list. They contacted every “green” blogger with offers of samples and product information that was in fact misleading and inaccurate.
They are defrauding people right and left and the cost of the bottles are offset by the significant s&h costs along with the clever default that sends two bottles regardless. Each bottle is sent with its own s&h costs and they have no customer service or response to any complaints.
EcoCanteen is trouble. I have removed anything from my site and recommend you do as well.
I want to respond to the suggestions to remove reference to EcoCanteen from Eco Child’s Play. I feel if people are looking for information on the company, the comments to this post are really important. I would not want to remove them at all, as it would make it harder for people to hear these personal experiences.
I finally saw a tv commercial for EcoCanteen today. There is no mention at all on the ad or in small writing how much shipping and postage charges will be. This should be a red flag, and it sure seems illegal. There was also no mention of non-profit status in the commercial.
Project Earth H2o is a great solution. All of their bottles are high grade, 18/8 stainless steel with NO Inner Lining. I like them because they actually seem very passionate and genuine + they donate 10% to breast cancer research. I came across them when they sponsored our ACS breast cancer team by donating money and actually getting involved. Check them out http://www.projectearthh2o.com
Besides the misleading shipping costs, when I received my order, it contained an insulating cover that is bulky and not user friendly. When I called, they told me about the small gray letters under the pictures of the bottles that says “Style May Vary”. WOW, didn’t see that one coming.