Delve into the fascinating story behind the Klean Kanteen brand, a pioneer in the world of sustainable drinkware.
This narrative will take you on a journey from the brand’s humble beginnings to its rise as a leader in eco-friendly water bottles.
Discover how Klean Kanteen’s commitment to sustainability and health-conscious practices revolutionized the industry and sparked a movement towards reducing single-use plastic.
Join us as we unravel the milestones, challenges, and innovations that shaped Klean Kanteen, and how it continues to influence our choices towards a greener, cleaner planet.
Key Takeaways: The Story Behind the Klean Kanteen Brand
Pioneering the stainless steel movement. Klean Kanteen was one of the first companies to introduce stainless steel, BPA-free, reusable water bottles as an alternative to plastic and lined aluminum bottles.
Family-owned beginnings. The brand started as a small, family-owned company with a mission to provide a healthier, eco-friendly alternative to plastic water bottles.
Environmental commitment. Klean Kanteen has a strong focus on environmental sustainability, using recyclable materials and promoting practices that reduce single-use plastic waste.
Health and safety focus. The brand emphasizes the health benefits of using non-toxic materials, ensuring that their products are safe for food and beverages.
Innovation in design. Klean Kanteen has continually innovated, offering a variety of designs, sizes, and features to suit different needs, from insulated bottles to kid-friendly sippers.
Community and environmental involvement. The company actively supports environmental and community initiatives, partnering with organizations that align with their conservation and sustainability values.
Global recognition and growth. Starting from humble beginnings, Klean Kanteen has grown into a globally recognized brand, synonymous with quality and environmental responsibility.
Humble beginnings to Klean Kanteen
Klean Kanteen was founded by inventor Robert Seals in 2002. Back then, there were stainless steel water bottles for personal hydration and plastic water bottles were pretty much the only option of most people in the US.
During this time, although there were already growing concerns about the environmental impacts of plastic water bottles, their effects to human health were still widely unknown.
Robert put together his first prototype of a stainless steel water bottle from materials he bought at a local hardware store in California. After 2 years of hard work and thorough research, Klean Kanteen introduced their first stainless steel water bottle to the world.
Initially, they thought that only a few people would be into reusable water bottles. During the early days of Klean Kanteen, their water bottles were not that popular but their water bottles were shared with people in public gatherings like music festivals, environmental fairs and outdoor recreation events.
In 2005, the Klean Kanteed brand was passed to the Cresswell family. They continued Seal’s original vision and advocacy by developing an ever-expanding selection of high-quality, durable and safe water bottles made from food-grade stainless steel to replace plastic water bottles.
How Klean Kanteen became a popular brand
In 2008, mainstream media started reporting about the dangers of BPA or bisphenol-A. Initially, BPA was not considered harmful but as more studies about its effects on human health were made public, it became apparent that BPA was not as safe as many experts thought it was.
BPA has since been considered a toxic chemical that is leached into the beverage when the plastic water bottle that contains it is exposed to heat. BPA is known to cause disruption of hormones and could cause serious health issues like diabetes and cancer.
Furthermore, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch made international news and many people became conscious of the effects of plastic on our bodies of water.
This was the time when people started becoming environmentally conscious with the products they buy which paved the way to the popularity of reusable water bottles like Klean Kanteen.
Eventually, when more studies about the dangers of drinking from plastic water bottles were published, more and more people were ditching plastic water bottles for reusable water bottles and Klean Kanteen was at the forefront of the green revolution.
Klean Kanteen Advocacy and support for environmental causes
Over the years, Klean Kanteen grew bigger and has become an international brand that inspired others to make reusable water bottles to further decrease our reliance on plastic water bottles.
They have turned down investor dollars and still remains a family and employee-owned company. Freedom from investor interference allows Klean Kanteen to stay true to their principles and advocacy.
They share support and donate to environmental causes and initiatives. They are still doing research to further improve their current products and accessories to provide customers with better water bottles.
Klean Kanteen is a member of various international organizations advocating sustainability and decreased dependence on plastic products. They became a member of 1% For The Planet in 2008 and have donated 1% of their annual sales to various like-minded non-profit organizations to extend the reach of these organisations in educating the general public about the environmental implications of plastic use.
