The concerns over BPA may be scary and may turn out to be blown out of proportion (we here at www.ImprintItems.com are staying out of the debate), but no matter your thoughts on BPA, we should all try to keep ourselves as informed as possible while making decisions.

Bottles marked with the #7 recycling symbol do not necessarily contain BPA, it simply means they are made of a plastic that falls into the “Other”‘ category.

Here is the breakdown of recyclable categories:

#1 = PETE —-> See our Poly Pure PETE Water Bottles

#2 = HDPE —-> See our Nalgene HDPE Water Bottles

#3 = PVC

#4 = LDPE

#5 = PP

#6 = PS

Anything else, by default, falls into category #7. While the plastic type Lexan / Polycarbonate (made with BPA) is classified as #7, it is only one of hundreds of plastic types that are classified as “Other – #7”

Check out this page from RecycleNow.Org explaining the categories in more detail

Many consumers see a #7 on the bottom of their water bottles and automatically assume that means the bottle contains BPA. While it could, if you are concerned you should check with the manufacturer to see what plastic they are using. Many water bottles containing BPA are currently being pulled from retail store shelves and Promotional Product Companies – such as www.ImprintItems.com – to be replaced with new bottles made out of Tritan plastic, which is BPA-free. (See our Nalgene Tritan Bottles and our CamelBak Tritan bottles)

Some water bottle manufacturers, like Camelbak, are choosing to leave off the #7 symbol on the bottom of their Tritan BPA-Free Bottles all together because of the wide-spread belief that #7 equals BPA. Other companies, such as Nalgene, may leave the #7 symbol on the bottom of their new Tritan Plastic BPA-Free Bottles even though they are BPA-free.

If you are looking to order custom printed water bottles and would like to discuss your options to make sure you are getting a BPA Free bottle you are welcome to contact us for more information.