The CEO of Sigg posted an update on their website today regarding his statements about the bottle liners. While it sounds like he is hearing that customers felt mislead, it also seems this statement of clarification is providing the company an opportunity to cap off and control their return/replacement program.
If you intend to send back your old Sigg bottles for replacements with the new Ecocare liner, you must do so by October 31, 2009.
I'm still on the fence about if I should send mine back. I want them to know that I feel mislead and have lost my trust in them. Should I take the new bottles? Should I simply write a letter? Which action will affect them more?
from Sigg:
September 1, 2009
Dear SIGG Customer,
Last month, I wrote a letter to try and provide you with as much factual and historical information as I could in regards to the evolution of the SIGG bottle liner. I also suggested that people could email me if they had any questions and comments.
After reading and responding to hundreds of emails and viewing nearly as many blog & Twitter posts, I realize that my first letter may have missed the mark. What I should have said simply and loudly to all of our loyal SIGG fans is: I am sorry that we did not make our communications on the original SIGG liner more clear from the very beginning.
I have learned much over the past 2 weeks. I learned that many of you purchased SIGG bottles - not just because they were free from leaching and safe - but because you believed that SIGGs contained no BPA. I learned that, although SIGG never marketed the former liner as “BPA Free” we should have done a better job of both clearly communicating about our liner as well as policing others who may have misunderstood the SIGG message.
For over 100 years, SIGG has earned a reputation for quality products and service – and we do not take that for granted. From the day we made our announcement last month, we made a commitment consistent with SIGG values that we would offer anyone who is concerned about BPA an opportunity to swap their old SIGGs for new SIGGs with the new EcoCare liner. Today, I am announcing that this voluntary Exchange Program will be in place until October 31, 2009 to ensure that our customers have ample time to send their former liner bottles back to us should they choose to do so.
Once again, I truly apologize for the lack of clarity in our previous communications. All of us at SIGG hope that we will have an opportunity to regain your confidence and trust.
Sincerely,
Steve
Steve Wasik
CEO, SIGG Switzerland
Steve.Wasik.CEO@sigg.com
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6 comments:
I too am disappointed in SIGGs excuse that their liners were safe, but had proprietary info regarding them so would not release the content list. They chose to "leave out" information that they knew would be a major issue and are dealing with the ramifications now. That being said, their recall program and follow-up by their CEO is pretty amazing (from my personal experience). At minimum, I would say to send your bottles back because SIGG will recycle them. They will also send you a gift certificate that you can choose to use, or not.
If it were me I would send the SIGG bottle to some of online retailers that are collecting the bottles for recycling and giving you a great discount (up to 40% off) on the purchase of a new stainless steel bottle. Bayinghound is one site.
I feel SIGG is finally going in the right direction with issuing an apology to customers. However, they still don't have my business back yet. With this fiasco about linings on aluminum bottles, I've done the research and found that I feel safer with a stainless steel bottle. No liner, harder to dent, no risk of aluminum leaching, and also less energy intensive to make than aluminum bottles.
Thank you, Anon, for the alternative. I hope consumers choose not want to give Sigg the marketing benefit of carrying a new bottle around from their replacement program after they deliberately misled consumers by withholding information. Shame on Sigg! If anyone knows other retailers with similar offres, please shre.
yes, thanks anonymous! i had no idea about that option and it is very appealing to both recycle the old siggs yet switch to a stainless bottle.
this story was picked up on the AP wire recently, and i appreciated the quote of one mom who said,
"Sometimes I wonder: how much do I need to research? I'm just a mom trying to do the right thing for my kids," said Jenn Savedge, a mother, blogger and freelance writer in Luray, Va. "How deep do I have to dig to feel comfortable? Or do I just have to drive to school every hour and bring my kids a glass of water from my own tap?"
It seems so squiddy to put it back on the consumers, if they're concerned they can send it back. No acknwoledgement on their part, of their responsibility. If it's big enough for Patagonia to severe connections, it's a big deal! I really like my Innate Mizu bottle, both for its design and for its sustainability.
I don't know if they can come back from this. I hope more follow Patagonia and pull Sigg. That's all I will say for now, I will be writing a blog about it soon.
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