Okay…we’re starting to make a little bit of progress!
I think you all know where I stand with Nalgene. I think they talk a good game and I used to think they made good products. But from everything I’ve seen, or not seen as in this case, I don’t think they care even the slightest, about their customers. They care about selling plastic bottles and that’s about it.
Progress you say? Here’s the transcript of the emails back and forth between Nalgene and me this past Friday:
After 30 BUSINESS days and no response from Nalgene:
6/20/08 – Email from Nalgene: We apologize for responding to your e-mail of May 12th. We have searched through our records and cannot find your original letter. Would you please resend it to us. Again we apologize for this inconvenience
[You apologize for responding? How about NOT responding? DUH. Remember that I used their online form to send the original email so resending it, exactly as it was sent the first time, would be a challenge. ALSO...to resend anything - you have to go back to the online form. Responding to email is a waste of time.]
6/20/08 – My email to Nalgene: Really? Well, with this nifty form, it’s difficult to keep a copy of what I send unless I copy and paste it somewhere for safekeeping.
I own several of your OTG bottles that were purchased back when they first came out – I don’t really remember when that was.
Are these safe to continue using? We hand wash only – no dishwasher.
Thanks,
Rick
6/20/08 – Email from Nalgene: Thank you for taking the time to write to us with your questions regarding BPA. We have listened to our customers’ concerns and are transitioning our polycarbonate line into the BPA free Everyday(tm) Nalgene(tm) line made from Tritan(tm) co-polyester. We have not recalled any of our products and are not issuing credits or refunding money as the science indicates products containing BPA are safe for their intended use. All of our products utilize FDA compliant food and beverage materials.
We have always offered a wide range of materials, including HDPE (# 2) and LDPE (# 4) bottles. For more information on our wide assortment of materials and styles, please visit <http://www.nalgenechoice.com/>.
Not all bottles with the # 7 contain BPA. The # 7 designation is the category for “Other” plastics that do not fall into the # 1 through # 6 category. Our new Tritan bottles will have the # 7 on the bottom, but they are not manufactured with BPA. If you would like to place an order via our website: <http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/>, we would like to extend a 20% off discount (includes free shipping). Please use “choice” as the coupon code.
We thank you for your understanding and support.
[First of all, I didn't write with questions regarding BPA. So let me ask you - did they answer my simple question? Are MY OTG Nalgene bottles safe to continue using? That's all I need to know.
What I now know is they haven’t recalled any bottles and they’re not issuing credits or refunding money because “the science indicates products containing BPA are safe for their intended use.” Oh yeah…and “All of our products utilize FDA compliant food and beverage materials.”
So, my bottles haven’t been recalled, am I supposed to “assume” that my bottles are okay to continue using?
My bottles are made with BPA which the science indicates are safe as long as they are used as intended. I’m using them as intended (I think) – does that mean my bottles are safe to continue using?
And, whew, what a reassuring thing to know that all of Nalgene’s bottles utilize FDA compliant food and beverage materials. Except that’s not what I asked or what I need to know.
What I need to know is – are MY bottles safe to continue using or not?
Seems, the more I think about this – the more they may be purposefully NOT answering my question directly. Can’t imagine why that would be <winky-wink> but sure seems that way.
Doesn’t it?
~ Rick Zwetsch ~
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