Nalgene: Sustainability meets innovation

At Nalgene, they believe what goes into making bottles is as important as the adventures they fuel. As the original reusable water bottle for the past 70+ years, Nalgene Outdoor remains committed to customers, community and planet – doing their part to reduce waste, improve access to clean water and provide simple, safe and sustainable products for you and your family.

As pioneers of the reusable bottle, Nalgene kept millions upon millions of single-use plastic bottles out of landfills and oceans over the past 70 years. And Nalgene is not satisfied with that. The company has transitioned its entire BPA/BPS-Free bottle product line to material derived from 50% recycled content, certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification system.

Nalgene – a simple idea becomes a concept

Back in 1949, in Rochester New York, after chemist Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic pipette jars, he founded Nalge. This company was named using Goldberg’s wife’s initials: Natalie Levey Goldberg.

During the 1960s, Naglene’s first exposure to the wilderness happened, when the Nalge labware scientists, who were also big into hiking, took their laboratory bottles on backpacking trips because those bottles were leak-proof and lightweight.

A sustainability-minded trend emerged in the 1970s, when conservationists began to discourage campers from the common disposal practice of burning or burying cans and glass containers.

It was in part for this reason that Nalgene lab bottles caught on in the hiking and adventure subculture. Even the son of the company’s CEO used Nalgene bottles and containers on his Boy Scout camping trips. This, along with the so-called carry in/carry out trend, gave Nalgene’s chief executive an idea: market Nalgene lab products as high-end hiking and camping accessories. That was the moment when Nalgene Outdoor was born.

The ultimate water bottle for outdoor adventures

All Nalgene items are manufactured in USA since local goods mean local jobs and fewer emissions. The Nalgene bottles are BPA-Free so you can drink water that’s harmless for health and tastes great. Nalgene bottles are also built to last and leakproof as continuous, straight shouldered semi-buttress threads keep the bottle sealed tight. Not to mention, they are easy to clean and dishwasher safe.