Hi - sorry I cant comment in french. I think this is a very nice step in “a right direction” - a signal about getting a more sustainable approach to a simple thing - namely having easy and comfortable access to drinking water, which is a basic human right. However I get worried when I see the complicated design of this very simple object which is supposed to help satisfying this very basic need. Do we not end up using an awful lot of hot water (heated here in France electric mostly I think and using nuclear) + disinfectants to clean this - since I think it needs to be cleaned by hand and with an old fashioned bottle brush since I dont think any dishwasher can handle this object unless it uses very nasty chemicals and very high temperatures??? - and I dont think there is any doubt that this bottle needs cleaning from time to time - as any vessel you drink or eat from does. This way the calculation is maybe not so valid about how much is saved - OR has that been put into the calculation already?? Disposable plastic bottles can be a very smart way of solving a need. Reusable as well, but what is equal for both solutions is that if they are not handled right (read DESIGNED right) - the solutions - could cause other problems that we might not think of in the first place. I think we need to look at the entire problem in a totally different way namely how do we get easy access to clean water and in this implies a serious discussion with the ones who pollutes the water we drink - and then using a cup or a glass with a name on has always worked and can be put in a dishwasher once in a while - and yes new smart cups could and is being developed, but bottles???? The bottled water is good for something but are all the new REUSABLE bottles not just making new problems?? If water is bottled locally on a disposable bottle and the bottles are recycled - maybe even reused for a while (yes bacterias will occur at some point in any bottle or cup or whatever you drink from) - could that not be a solution too – OR what about the old fashioned cup or glass with a nametag (if its for offices). We are living in a time where we have managed to complicate simple matters even more..like drinking - water - I would really like to see us all trying hard to GET REAL and create solutions the really thinks in radical new and different ways. And PLEASE Im NOT saying the GOBI bottle is a bad solution - all Im saying is - THERE ARE MANY SOLUTIONS, but no REAL solutions is there yet - as I see it - lets find them. 

Hi Niels, a few comments to provide you with more infos about the Gobi. i think we pretty much agree :-) We wanted a very simple design and if you look at it, it is very pure so the water is what you see the most and it does not have complicated features like a sport cap or some sort of filter. What we invented is the personlization system which we feel is key for people to adopt it in offices or kids in classes : that way you have no fears you might be drinking in someone else's bottle. And it adds a value compared to a standards single-use bottle that makes it attractive even for people not deeply commited to preserving the environment, which is one of our objective too.

As for your more technical questions about the LCA of the Gobi and the material. We worked 8 months on a preventive eco-conception programme to identify key impacts and take them into acount in our manufacturing choices. The material is called Tritan, it is the same that brands like Camel back use in the US for reusable bottles. it is both very resistant and very safe : no BPA, no oestrogenic activity and no other 54 substances we defined with the toxicologist expert in plastic migrations who helped us with this. the manufacturer (Eastman) tested this and we did too with an independant laboratory (on new material and after simulating 2 years of use and washing). 

In terms of water consumption you're right, you use more water if you use a Gobi since you need to wash it : that is approx 60 liters extra-consumption per year which is quite easy to compensate since the average consumption for one day for a French citizen is 157 liters. As for other impacts (waste, climate change, terrestrial and marine eco-toxicity, land depletion, ...) the Gobi performs better than the reference. I can send you the report but it is in French !

I very much agree when you say they are no perfect solution and we are no gurus ! we feel that sometimes it'll be easier for users to buy a disposable bottle or use a disposable cup but if we manage to have them refill their Gobi before they leave the office and go for a movie or catch a train and realize it is handier and cheaper we progressiveley will make a difference in terms of waste prevention and change of habits and consumption.

To conclude let me just add that we are working on making access to tap water easier in France through our non-profit activity Eaupen (yes we are a tiny start up but with a non-profit activity !), we are referencing public fontains and mobilizing coffee houses, restaurants and shops to be places where you can refill your bottle.

I'll stop talking now ! let us see how people use it and learn from the experience :-)

It's a pleasure to read so cleavers and construtives exchanges. I made an order because I believe in the product and I wait the delivrery :D
Thanks

Hi and thanks a lot for your reply and sorry for the delay bit have been traveling - But Im still very much in doubt about the input unit and the possible difficulties of cleaning it properly, but maybe I should order one and try ;-) no matter what Id love to hear more about Eaupen...sounds like a facinating project.

Merci

Thank you Sylvie :-) Your comment and that kind of exchanges are very energizing for us ! Give me your feedback when you will have received your Gobi and enjoy !!

Avec plaisir ;)

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