Before steel, there was plastic.
When plastic emerged in our economy, a revolution began. Packaging was never easier, toting items went from boxes to lightweight bags, and the durability of plastic proved to last as long as you needed.
That is until 8 million plastic products end up in the oceans and 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year (IUCN).
Now penguins choke on soda packaging, turtles swim with bags wrapped around their fins, and fish swallow plastic, remaining in their digestive systems for the rest of their days.
Underwater photographer Cherie Bridges has seen this firsthand (Alice Hunter, Green Peace).
“I’ve never been on a dive and not encountered plastic,” says Bridges. “…I’ve seen numerous fish such as mackerel and grey mullets feeding on plastic bags, and damsel fish floating on the surface after getting infections from the pollution.”
And it’s no surprise there, due to the outstanding data from the Deep-sea Debris Database, which was launched in 2017 from The Global Oceanographic Data Centre of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
The data consisted that out of roughly 5000 dives, more than 3000 pieces were man-made debris. Over a third of that debris found was micro-plastic, and 89% of those micro-plastics were single-use products (items made of plastic, metal, rubber, and fishing gear)(Project Aware).
In areas deeper than 6000m, over half of debris was plastic, almost all of which was single-use (Project Aware). Even a plastic bag was found in the Mariana Trench, which is over 10,000 meters below the surface (Project Aware).
What does this have to do with an heirloom product? They’re a long-term solution.
Heirloom products are promotional products not made of plastic. They are made of glass or, more popularly, stainless steel. Because of their long-lasting components, they can sustain for future generations to come (unlike single-use plastics).
At Evergreen Promotions, heirloom products are our future, specifically the stainless steel bottle. It’s our social responsibility to provide you with merchandise at a low to no carbon footprint. With over three key benefits, it’s hard not to jump on board the heirloom wave.
Why should I buy a stainless steel bottle, then?
They. Are. Sustainable.
Made with natural resources, stainless steel bottles are an environmentally-friendly, state-of-the-art invention. They not only have a long lifespan, they are recyclable and reusable due to their three metal makeup. Essentially, you’ll never need to throw away a stainless steel bottle, making it a vital product for low environmental impact. Your quality of life deserves a quality bottle.
They Keep Away Microbes and Bacteria
- BPA
- BPS
- Mold
These are the common microbes from the natural environment found in hard plastic that are avoided in stainless-steel manufacturing. Since they are also dishwasher safe, the prevention of harmful bacteria is easily avoided.
It Has a More Valued Production
Single-use plastic bottles take more than one avenue to be produced. They require shipment, transport, landfill decomposition, and carbon manufacturing which all require CO2 emissions of some kind.
Production for a stainless steel bottle? Low-carbon manufacturing and access for recyclable decomposing. In other words, stainless steel bottles = energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint.
They Retain Temperatures and Flavor
Because these bottles are new inventions, some of these bottles can apply insulation. Instead of leaving your plastic bottle to heat throughout the day, your stainless steel bottles keeps your water cooler for a longer time than the plastic ever would or could.
Not to mention that they also retain flavors. Instead of tasting yesterday’s water or juice in the grooves of the plastic, sleek steel provides a fresh canvas for your new beverage.
Cheaper!
We all love saving money. Sure, single-use bottles are worth about a handful of dollars, but add that up after a year’s expense. What do you get?
2,000 times more for bottled water than a gallon of tap water in your stainless steel bottle.
ConvergEx Group Chief Market Strategist Nick Colas discovers that at an average cost of $1.22 per gallon, consumers are spending 300 times the cost of tap water to drink bottled water (Matthew Boesler, Business Insider).
We constantly try our best to aim towards a sustainable future. As Cherie Bridges proclaimed, “The good news is that the future is completely in our hands. The bad news is that we no longer have the luxury of time. The water that we drink – the air that we breathe – our very existence depends on the ocean. If there was ever a time for people to stand up for something, it would probably be now” (Alice Hunter, Green Peace).
Our eco-friendly stainless steel bottle isn’t available as of yet, but you can learn more about heirloom products and a plastic-free world here in the meantime.