Klean Kanteen is a brand loved and trusted by millions. Their stainless steel water bottles are among the best in the world and their double wall vacuum insulation is unbeatable at keeping beverages hot or cold for hours.
But behind every popular brand is a story. So let’s take a look at how Klean Kanteen started and why they became popular.
Humble beginnings
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.
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.
