Some Canadian retailers yanked Nalgene bottles from store shelves months ago because they are made of polycarbonate plastic, which is known to contain the potentially toxic chemical bisphenol A. Now that Health Canada is also prepared to be the first country to label bisphenol A as hazardous, it appears Nalgene recognizes a sinking ship when they see one. The company has announced they will be pulling their hard plastic bottles from store shelves in the coming months. In place of the old bottles, Nalgene will introduce new products that do not contain BPA.

The hard plastic bottles made Nalgene a household name among outdoor enthusiasts who loved how light, yet durable the bottles are. It was only recently, as studies demonstrated the occurrence of cancer and obesity in animals exposed to BPA, that plastic products containing the chemical started to receive bad press, such as Canadian retailers refusing to sell the products. Nalgene reporesentatives hopes that by eliminating the plastic bottles people will see the company is serious about their commitment to the the healthy and safety of their customers.

“By eliminating containers containing BPA from our consumer product mix, our customers can have confidence that their needs are being met,” Steven Silverman, general manager of the Nalgene business, said in a statement.

» MSNBC Health