When asked if she owned a S’well, freshman Olivia Plotnek smirked and waved her purple water bottle.

“Is that even a question?” Plotnek said, gripping the S’well. “S’well is the best invention of life, and that’s the only reason I’m breathing.”

S’well water bottles inspire passion in supporters and critics alike. Depending on who you ask, S’well owners are either rich, Earth-friendly, cool, charitable, or, perhaps, unthinking slaves to the latest trend. As this stainless steel water bottle pops up all over CESJDS hallways, classrooms and lockers, the fad is raising eyebrows as well as questions.

S’well is a popular brand of water bottle, launched in 2010, that keep water cold for 24 hours and hot for 12, come in dozens of colors, and cost $25 – $45 depending on size. The high price tag triggers debate about both the value of the bottle and the values behind it.

“Jappy, white, Jewish girl,” junior Jonathan Israel said, describing his opinion on the stereotypical S’well owner. “They just want to be cool like their friends.”

Fans of the S’well water bottle fit a certain profile. According to junior Lois Richman, they wear Uggs and Lululemon leggings. They are, in one word: “basic,” Richman said.

However, some students are proud to fit the basic profile.

“Embrace it,” eighth-grader Tess Mendelson said.

Mendelson’s family owns seven S’wells. There are 15 collections of S’wells to choose from, featuring dozens of design themes, ranging from Monochrome, to Gem, to Galaxy.

It’s not just about design for Mendelson, though. It’s also about saving the environment.

“It’s really easy to keep buying plastic bottles, and throw them out, but when you buy a S’well you’re helping the environment by reusing,” Mendelson said.

Just as Mendelson is environmentally conscious, so is the CEO and founder of S’well, Sarah Kauss. She had a similar goal in mind when she launched the company. Kauss is on a “mission to rid the world of plastic water bottles,” she wrote on the S’well website.

Science teacher and track and cross-country coach Kelly Grosskurth said that S’wells “definitely support the environment.” When Grosskurth sees a student walking with a S’well, she believes that they are promoting a message of using materials that are “more efficient in the long run, and healthier.”

The S’well is a non-toxic and non-leaching water bottle, unlike many plastic water bottles. It is also free of BPA, or bisphenol A, a chemical compound in plastics which could have harmful health effects. The interior is lined with three layers of metal, including a copper wall. Grosskurth said that the lack of toxic BPAs is a plus.

Grosskurth added that there are pros and cons to using S’wells while exercising. The S’well website claims that the bottle, which comes in nine, 17 and 25 ounce sizes, outperforms competing brands in keeping water cool. The cold water chilled by a S’well can decrease a person’s core temperature on a hot day before working out, Grosskurth said. On the other hand, drinking cold water after or during exercise requires more energy for bodies to regulate and could have negative effects, she said.

The health benefits extend beyond S’well drinkers. Since 2015, S’well has donated $800,000 to UNICEF USA. The company also supports two non-profits, American Forests and Drink Up. S’well’s goal is to provide clean and safe water to communities in need by donating to these three charitable organizations.

For some students, this generosity is a game changer. When informed of S’wells charitable deeds, Israel, a S’well critic, said, “That’s really cool … I should buy a S’well now.”

S’well’s support of nonprofits also can ease the guilt of self-indulgence. This October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, S’well plans to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The company pledges to donate 20 percent of proceeds from the sale of the Bikini Pink S’well.

For freshmen Maya Bellas, however, the donations “don’t change the fact that S’wells are pretentious.”

Given its high price tag, junior Jenna Berinstein does not want to lose her S’well. Last summer, while hiking in Hawaii, Berinstein’s friend accidentally kicked Berinstein’s bright blue S’well off a cliff. Berinstein watched it roll down the rocks, “panicked.”

“I thought I was going to lose it forever,” Berinstein said.
Hours later, on the descent, she found it resting against a stone.

“It was really exciting,” Berinstein said, recalling the reunion.
Berinstein picked up her S’well, used her shirt to wipe the dust off her prized bottle, and continued downhill a little happier, she said.