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If you search the internet or in the baby department of the drugstore for drinking bottles for babies or toddlers, you will be slain by a huge offer. On the other hand, the market for sustainable drinking bottles for kids, not only without BPA, but even without plastic, is unfortunately still very clear.
As my son, who has been fully breastfed, consumed more and more solid food at about 10 months, his need for extra fluid also grew.
Since I had no baby bottle or anything like that at home, I simply used water of a glass bottle from which Dad and I also drank. That worked quite well at home.
I quickly realized, though, that that was not the case on the road. Due to the big mess when spilling,it wasn't particularly practical. Contrary to my attitude “The child doesn't need anything extra,” a leak-proof sustainable drinking bottle for babies or toddlers had to be bought.
I saw all the shelves full of plastic bottles, drinking cups and Co. in the supermarket and realized quickly that I wanted a more natural alternative.
The first thing that came to mind was that the drinking bottle
- doesn't need a nipple, but something that, at best, would also encounter in his later life or what resembles a “normal” bottle.
- is pollution-free
- contains no or has only a small proportion of plastic
- is produced sustainably .
Not so easy at all … My ideas. After all, the bottle should also look nice and cute. 😀
The price plays a rather minor role, not because I usally bath in money like Dagobert, but, knowing that sustainability in our time, simply comes at a price.
If you are also looking for sustainable baby bottles or drinking bottles on the go, which are also leak-proof, then read on!
I will introduce you below which drinking bottles I have tried and which we ended up with.
I hope you can take away something from this article!
Enjoy reading!
Dislcaimer: None of the drinking bottles were given to me for free, I bought all by myself and reflect my very personal opinion and experience here. #notsponsored 😉
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The evaluation criteria
Sustainability
sustainability
mass noun
1. The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. ‘the sustainability of economic growth’ ‘schemes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project’1.1 Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. ‘the pursuit of global environmental sustainability’ ‘the ecological sustainability of the planet’
Source: Oxford Dictionary Website
The sustainability of products concerns, in my view, its manufacturing process, the use of sustainable materials and the reuse or disposal at the end of the product's life cycle. A long lifespan also contributes to a product's sustainability.
In terms of drinking bottles, this means that I hope not only the product gets the label “sustainable,” but also its entire life cycle.
In addition, the bottle should be durable for a long time and should not completely break by falling of the kitchen table.
Material
It is important to me that the material is either reusable, such as stainless steel or glass, or compostable in a foreseeable future, such as bamboo or wood. Recycled material would also be conceivable.
Since glass is too dangerous in my opinion, children like to throw objects and I am very afraid of splinters, I exclude glass until my son is older and can handle it better.
According to my research, there are two materials to choose from:
- Bamboo
- Stainless steel
If you know any other materials I've overlooked, please let me know in the comments!
Stability
When it comes to toddlers stability is particularly important. You certainly know that. Your little one likes to knock on the floor with objects, because it makes such a nice noise, or he throws things off the table to see if the gravity still works today.
Usability
The small children's hands should be able to grab the bottle well and lead it well to the mouth. The bottle must not be too heavy or bulky or slip out of your hands.
Cleaning
A very important point is the cleaning of all the individual parts. It is beneficial if there are few corners and narrow, hard-to-reach places where bacteria and dirt can accumulate.
On a positive note are drinking bottles that are allowed into the dishwasher. But even by hand, such a drinking bottle must be simple and easy to clean.
Optics
The importance of the appearance of a drinking bottle depends heavily on the age of the children and possibly also a bit on the mom 😉 My little sunshine was hardly a year old at that time and he didn't care if he drinks from a blue mug or a pink bottle.
However, if the drinking bottle is to be used for a long time, it is beneficial if it is equipped with appealing colors or patterns, in which the toddler also has its pleasure for a long time.
The comparison
Go Fresh Bamboo Kids Straw Cup
My first choice was a drinking cup made of bamboo from the company “Go Fresh.”
The drinking bottle immediately caught my eye due to the material and the absolutely beautiful design. They come in two colors and exclusively with a straw.
The exact materials were named to me by the seller only on demand, since in the item description only bamboo is listed.
Thus, in addition to bamboo (a plus) from which the drinking container is made, plastic is unfortunately also used, that is a minus. The lid with the leak-proof closure is made of BPA-free plastic. The leak-proof straw is made of silicone.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find out anything about the production. I can only guess that sustainable production was not in the foreground, otherwise it would certainly have been advertised.
But it is worth mentioning that the bottle was delivered in an environmentally friendly packaging made of cardboard and also no plastic film was used in which the cup was welded.
Cleaning the cup is ok, it's dishwasher-proof, but unfortunately has a few hard-to-reach spots for hand washing. Therefore, there is a point deduction here.
On the positive side, there is a small lid that is placed over the straw, which is then buckled in such a way that no more leakage is possible. Assuming you turn the bottle properly tight ;).
A big plus is also the feel. The two handles are good to grasp, so that the cup is already great to use from under one-year-olds and the little ones also look totally sweet.
A big minus, unfortunately, is that my son managed to break the cup after a few days, as he threw it out of his high chair and onto the tiles with momentum. Ouch.
Want to learn more about sustainability and zero wast? Read my blog article about Going Zero Waste With Baby.
My conclusion
My son and I loved Go Fresh's drinking cup. Unfortunately, he fell victim to my son's throwing exercises. But I can imagine the cup very well with slightly older children who already have the extreme throwing phase behind them.
In summary, I evaluated the selected criteria as follows:
Criterion | Comment | Conclusion |
Sustainability | Material ok, but no info about production | + |
Material | Bamboo, plastic, silicone | + |
Stability | Breakable, leak-proof | – – |
Usability | No restrictions, great haptics | + + |
Cleaning | Small corners, dishwasher proof | + |
Optics | Super cute 😉 | + + |
Pura stainless steel bottle (https://amzn.to/2u9Pv2C)
Luckily, in search of an unbreakable and leak-proof alternative to our bamboo drinking bottle, I came across the Pura drinking bottles .
Spoiler: Our Pura Drinking Bottle was the perfect choice for us and actually meets all my criteria from sustainability to optics.
Due to the experience with the Go Fresh drinking cup, I had opted again for a bottle with a straw. The nice thing about the Pura system, however, is that there are very different lids that fit on all bottles.
There are also different bottle sizes, ranging from baby age to adulthood, which can also be used in different age groups due to the different lids.
I also think it's good that there are even isolated bottles for hiking and also sports bottles.
The company Pura scores that the bottles are very durable, as they consist of 100 stainless steel. From an entrepreneur's point of view, this is actually not so clever, as companies are more interested in selling their products over and over again. Pura thinks differently here.
From a buyer's point of view, this is a huge plus. Our Pura drinking bottle has also survived some falls on tiles or stone floor at home and on the road, which can be well seen at the dented bottle bottom. 😉
In addition, the bottle is characterized by 100% without plastic or aluminum. In addition to stainless steel, the only other material used is silicone. The lids and sleeves are made of silicone.
The bottles do not contain BPA, BPS and EA or however all these substances are called. They are tasteless and odour-neutral and dishwasher-proof.
We have been using the bottle for a few months now. I don't have a dishwasher, but it's also easy and quick to clean by hand.
If you pump breast milk or use a substitute, there is a practical scale that has been punched inside the bottle. On the scale you can see the filled or the drunk amount of milk, for example.
The look is not neglected either. Pura may not come with witty designs, but there are interchangeable silicone cases in different colors.
A wonderful detailed report on the advantages of Pura baby bottles can be found on “Baby Grear Lab”:
My conclusion
I would like to warmly recommend Pura to you, as all other known “sustainable” manufacturers of drinking bottles for children do not give up plastic as consistently as Pura.
If you really want to do without plastic completely and are looking for a sustainable drinking bottle for your child or yourself, you cant do anything wrong with the drinking bottles of Pura .
In summary, I evaluated the selected criteria as follows:
Criterion | Comment | Conclusion |
Sustainability | Durable, growing with your child | ++ |
Material | Stainless steel, silicone, NO plastic | ++ |
Stability | Unbreakable, leak-proof | ++ |
Usability | Great feel, not heavy | ++ |
Cleaning | Dishwasher proof, easy to clean | ++ |
Optics | Beautiful colours & variety | + |
Klean kanteen stainless steel bottle
In addition to the Pura drinking bottles, there are some other stainless steel bottles that are produced sustainably. I choose the klean kanteen drinking bottles because there is a good variety of bottle types.
Klean kanteen mainly sells stainless steel drinking bottles. In addition, you will also find other nice items such as stainless straws, tumblers, food canisters and isolated bottles.
Klean kanteen is a family business situated in the US that produces sustainable products for about more than ten years. The brand is internationally available, even so in Germany.
The klean kanteen kids bottles do not do completely without plastic. for kids bottles. To spoil you, this was one reason why I finally sent the ordered drinking bottle back after all.
But if this doesn't bother you, the brand is certainly a good choice. It scores highly for being pollutant-free, BPA-free and sustainably produced.
If your kids are able to drink from a normal water bottle, there is a version without a nipple or straw, that is completely free of plastic and with a steal-bamboo lid.
The bottle we ordered was very well processed and good for to use for my toddler due to the small bulbous size. Although I guess there is a slightly better solution with the silicone sleeve that is used in Pura bottles.
In Germany there is a brand called kivanta, that rebrands the klean kanteen bottles and sells specially crafted neopren sleeves that fit the bottles with very nice prints. They are used for isolation of warm or cold drinks.
I didn't find something similar in the US. If you know a good solution to improve the haptic of the bottle and keep the temperature away from the little fingers of your toddler, let my know in the comments section below!
My conclusion
Klean kanteen's stainless steel drinking bottle is a beautiful drinking bottle from mostly sustainable production. Unfortunately, I don't like the plastic cap because the mouth of my baby would come into touch with the plastic.
The GoFresh bamboo bottle also uses plastic, but the water and mouth came only into contact with the silicone straw but not with the plastic, which is a bit different here.
In summary, I evaluated the selected criteria as follows:
Criterion | Comment | Conclusion |
Sustainability | Durable | + |
Material | Stainless steel, plastic | – |
Stability | Very stable, leak-proof | ++ |
Usability | Good feel, not heavy | ++ |
Cleaning | Dishwasher proof, easy to clean | ++ |
Optics | Pretty cases, But it has to be bought for this purpose | + |
Summary
Each sets different criteria for buying sustainable products. In my view, it is not possible to buy 100% sustainable products, because in our globalised world so many people and companies are involved in the production of products that a single one no longer has the opportunity to keep track.
Therefore, every step you take towards more sustainability and less waste, more environmental awareness and fewer pollutants is always a step in the right direction.
When it comes to water bottles, you can do without plastic and pollutants quite well with some research. However, prices here are many times higher than for conventional drinking bottles for children.
That's why I chose the durable Pura Drinking Bottle and only have this one drinking bottle for my son. He drinks on the go from his green Pura and prefers to drink from a mug or glass at home, like mum and dad do.
I hope I was able to spare you some research with my post and give you some food for thought. Do you want to learn more about zero waste living with kids? Check out the following blo post: 5 things your baby absolutely doesn’t need!
If you liked the blog post, share it with your friends who might also be looking for sustainability and leave me a comment with your experiences! Which bottle did you buy? Are you happy with it?
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Best regards
2 Comments on “3 Sustainable Drinking Bottles for Kids”
nice article! it turns out that used plastic bottles can be used as useful tools rather than being thrown away in vain and making the environment dirty. this is a simple action to protect our earth
and used plastic bottles can also be used as plant pots! check here yes: http://news.unair.ac.id/2019/07/26/mahasiswa-kkn-unair-di-batu-sulap-botol-bekas-jadi-pot-tanaman/
thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much for your nice comment! That is an interesting way to reuse plastic bottles 🙂
I agree, protecting the earth should always be our goal number one, we only have one earth 😉
Nancy