Burlap Sack: The reusable water bottle industry

Reusable should mean more than keeping it until the next colour drops.

I’m all for reusable water bottles. They keep us hydrated, cut down on single-use plastic waste, and make carrying water around a little more convenient. A practical purchase with an environmental benefit — what’s not to like?

But somewhere along the way, drinking water acquired a dress code. Suddenly, the perfectly good bottle we already owned needed replacing because another brand, shape, or colour had become more fashionable. The bottle was still reusable; apparently our interest in it wasn’t.

We see companies that promote “special-edition colour drops,” with scheduled releases and reminders to buy before they sell out. There is something funny about being told to hurry up and buy an object you’re meant to keep for years. Your current bottle is sitting right there, holding water, unaware that its career is over.

That is where the sustainability arguments start to leak. The United Nations Environment Programme recommends consuming less and repeatedly using products to reduce their environmental impact. Buying something reusable is a useful start, but the benefit depends on what happens after checkout.

I understand the appeal of making everyday things feel special — there is something lively about an ordinary object that makes your day a little brighter. But I find the suggestion that we need to keep purchasing that feeling exhausting. How many versions of “this is so me” can we buy before wondering why the previous one stopped being us?

Whimsy can’t be bought. There is character in a faded sticker, an odd colour combination you still love, or a familiar object that follows you through several versions of yourself. Keeping something gives it the chance to become yours. Constantly replacing it barely gives it time to become familiar.

Of course, bottles break, disappear, or stop meeting our needs. Those are reasonable reasons to buy another. Discovering that your perfectly useful bottle is now last season’s colour feels like a less pressing development.

Between classes, assignments, and remembering to pack lunch, we already have enough to keep up with. Our water bottles can sit this one out. Choose one you like, take care of it, and let it become unfashionable while continuing to do its job.

The part worth refreshing is the water.