Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Retap... proud winner of 2011 Red Dot Design Award
Another Danish design on the green front... trust the Danes to design a real snazzy tap water bottle for the office and boardroom table. But, you can also use it at home, and with the pouch, made from upcycled neoprene wetsuits, also on the move.
The Retap Story
Retap was initially influenced by reading about plastic islands in the oceans consisting mainly of plastic bottles. With the UN climate meeting 2009 in Copenhagen (COP 15) closing in, the founders became more aware of the negative impact of bottled water on the environment.
They felt that something had to be done. So they set our minds on designing a bottle that is especially designed for drinking tap water.
A year and many designs later in the summer of 2010, they released the Retap bottle, and are very proud of this eco-friendly and beautiful product. And I would say that they can indeed be very proud of it indeed.
Some water facts
Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year and costs up to 2000 times more than tap water.
The plastic in plastic bottles releases chemicals that harm your hormonal system.
All EU countries are required to provide tap water that is 'wholesome and clean'
Test has shown that tap water has about 300 times lower values than bottled water regarding ecological footprint and carbon footprint. It's a measure on the environmental burden of a product by considering each step of its life cycle, from cradle to grave. (S. Botto,Tap water vs. bottled water in a Footprint Integrated approach, 2009)
And it is not just the bottle that is giving us grief; the very bottling of water is causing a problem to the world's water resources.
The Retap bottle 0.5
Our world gets polluted by plastic bottles that not only harm the environment, but also our personal health. There needs to be a bottle that is especially designed for drinking water, so we designed the Retap bottle: a 0.5 liter bottle that is high quality, clean and eco-friendly.
• Extra strong glass
• Dishwasher safe
• Reusable
Specifications:
Weight: 166 g. (max: 170 g.)
Height: 190 mm.
Diameter (max): 78 mm.
Material: borosilicate glass (20% recycled)
Despite the fact that it is extra strong glass the bottle is extremely light and also the glass thin thus not really adding much weight to your bag if you carry one of them.
While the glass may only be 20% recycled contents it is still a great deal better than plastic bottles, even the reusable ones.
The great advantage with glass is that it does not impart any taste to the water unlike some plastic materials do and it has not harmful chemicals that could leach into your drink, such as BPA (and others).
And, by the way, if you do not like the taste of your tap water because of chlorine or fear fluoridation then use a filter. Even the cheap jug filters remove chlorine and fluoride from the water, as well as other impurities.
However, the tap water in the European Union, bar one or two countries, and many other countries is safer than many a so-called spring water. We must also not forget that, in fact, many of the bottled waters for which you pay so much per bottle is nothing but tap water bottled; filtered maybe, but still tap.
So, go Retap... Extremely stylish & I love it.
© 2012
