Nalgene. S’well. Hydroflask. Stanley. Owala.
The cycle of trendy water bottles goes on, and we follow it, buying a new water bottle every year even though your Nalgene from six years ago probably still works just fine. Adding water bottles to the list of trending things you have to stay on top of is a waste of money and terrible for the environment. It defeats the purpose of a reusable bottle to reduce waste from single use plastics and fuels overconsumption. I will admit I have also fallen victim to overconsumption. Since 2020, I have gone through four water bottles due to two being lost, one being run over by a car, and one that I realized had a graphic of two people kissing on it after several months of use. But hey, I’m on a two year streak of the same bottle, a purple Nalgene.
Last spring, Owalas took over, transitioning from Stanleys as the new king of water bottles. This was nowhere near the first time this had happened. Recently, water bottle trends have become more widespread because of the internet, so even more bottles are being purchased. According to a study conducted by the Washington Post, after ten uses of an aluminum, steel, or plastic reusable water bottle the amount of CO2 emissions is equivalent to a disposable plastic bottle. It becomes significantly less at 30 uses. This means that buying multiple bottles that you don’t need or replacing your water bottle every few months isn’t as beneficial for the environment as using the same one for the duration of its lifetime. So, following water bottle microtrends defeats the purpose of reusable water bottles.
The patterns of trending water bottles is not only bad for the environment but also increases materialism. According to National Geographic, consumers are constantly being bombarded with ads using pathos. The person in the video is happy and their hair is shiny and so the products they have must be the reason for that, causing the consumer to buy more. This leads to a connection between social status and how one hydrates. If your water bottle is connected to your quality of life (it’s not) then the people who don’t have the newest one must have something wrong in their life. This may not be a conscious thought one has, but the connection between your things and social status is internalized through everyone.
To combat these negative effects of following microtrends, specifically water bottles, you should pay more attention to why you’re buying things. Before you buy or ask for a new bottle, think about why you want it: is it because it’s what other people have, and will you continue using it for its entire lifespan? And, do you already have something that would work just as well? Overconsumption and materialism is a plight facing consumers, and reusable water bottles are especially sensitive because of the greenwashing that comes with it.
