Students in some schools across the country are being forced to find a new way to stay hydrated.

Several school districts have announced they will prohibit stainless-steel water bottles, including popular brands such as Owala, YETI, Hydro Flask and Stanley. The bans have been attributed to student safety and the water bottles being disruptive.

“Many schools are having issues with students using them to hit others, dropping and breaking the glass ones (dangerous, especially with very young students), dropping the metal ones on purpose to make loud noises, or banging them on desks,” one teacher told Education Week. “I get that it seems like no big deal, especially if you have only one or two kids of your own, but in a room of 30? It can be chaos.”

School administrators at Firestone Community Learning Center in Akron, OH, which banned stainless-steel water bottles at the beginning of September, say these products present a “significant safety concern.” The opacity of these containers has caused major delays in the school’s security entry process because they require staff to inspect each container manually to ensure students aren’t hiding prohibited items like alcohol or small weapons.

Other school districts in New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Kentucky have enacted similar water bottle bans. Clear plastic water bottles (both reusable and single-use) will still be permitted in most districts that have instituted bans.

Many students and their families are raising concerns about the impact of these bans. Earlier this month, 20 Firestone students protested the ban by noisily carrying them into school, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Others posted on social media to voice their concerns. And 250 Firestone students, one-fourth of the overall student population, signed a petition opposing the ban.

“We, as students, believe this policy places an unneeded burden on students seeking to meet their daily hydration needs, especially students with acute health needs,” Whitman Sullivan, a Firestone high school senior who presented the petition at a school board meeting, told the Beacon Journal.

Some parents worry that transitioning to plastic water bottles could lead to a higher spread of germs. (Plastic materials promote more microbe growth than stainless steel.) Others fear the bans could cause an increase in plastic waste, since some families may turn to single-use water bottles as an alternative.

Stainless-Steel Bottles Take Off

Water bottles were once merely a hydration tool. But somewhere along the way, stainless-steel containers became an act of self-expression. Instead of buying the latest pair of jeans or high-end perfume, children and teens are now turning to water bottles like Owala and Hydro Flask.

Seth Inyang, who started Elemental Bottles (asi/51846) with co-founder Vinh Lieu, has seen water bottle trends rise and fall over the last decade.

“These water bottles have turned into safety blankets,” he says. “Now, they’ve become a fashion accessory. People used to have one or two. Now people have 30. And everyone has a favorite, kind of like you have your favorite pair of shoes.”

But for many students, these water bottles are more than just a short-term trend; they’re a utility. Stainless-steel water bottles offer a level of temperature control that many other containers do not, keeping beverages at their preferred temperature for hours at a time. Students say that when they spend eight hours a day at school, it’s important to have a water bottle that stays cold.

$8.85 billion
The global stainless-steel water bottle market’s projected valuation by 2032, with projected growth of 61% from its 2024 market value of $5.47 billion.(Maximize Market Research)

In 2024, the global stainless-steel water bottle market was valued at $5.47 billion, and total revenue is expected to reach nearly $8.85 billion by 2032.

According to Counselor’s State of the Industry report, drinkware is the second-most popular product category, accounting for 10.4% of promo sales – behind T-shirts at 16.1%. The growing popularity of stainless-steel options has been a key driver, helping the drinkware category grow every year from 2017 to 2023, with the exception of 2020. However, last year the category dipped by 0.3 percentage points, and is being impacted this year by tariffs on materials such as steel and aluminum, as well as reciprocal tariffs from key sourcing hubs like China.

Potential Effect of School Bans

It’s too early to tell whether additional school districts will implement similar measures, but growing bans could potentially impact sales of drinkware in the promo industry and decrease visibility for brands that advertise on stainless-steel water bottles, especially those with a target audience of children, teens and families.

Inyang, who has school-aged children, says he has seen kids’ stainless-steel water bottles take off in the market over the last few years. But he added that Tritan plastic bottles, which are generally more affordable than name-brand stainless-steel containers, have grown in popularity in the wake of economic challenges.

“Right now, a lot of people are making decisions purely based on what’s affordable,” says Inyang, who was named the Counselor 2024 Supplier Entrepreneur of the Year alongside Elemental co-founder Vinh Lieu. “Plastic bottles lend themselves to a lower price point. If the stainless-steel bans continue in schools, they’ll be following a shift toward plastic bottles that has already started to happen.”

Inyang added people own so many different types of bottles. A single consumer might be interested in both plastic and stainless-steel containers, but they may use them for different occasions.

“Tritan has helped us at Elemental because it’s allowed us to lower the price point,” Inyang says. “From a business perspective, it’s never a bad thing to have an alternative to stainless steel.”

Elemental’s product library showcases water bottles spanning size and material. Its kids’ collection includes both plastic and stainless-steel options.

Daniel Oas, CEO of High Caliber Line (asi/43442), offers a number of product categories to his customers. Drinkware, he says, has been a top seller, though he’s noticed a slowdown in the category at large due to what he says is “a very oversaturated market.” 

“Plastic bottles lend themselves to a lower price point. If the stainless-steel bans continue in schools, they’ll be following a shift toward plastic bottles that has already started to happen.”Seth Inyang, Elemental Bottles (asi/51846)

Oas, who doesn’t supply much plastic bottle inventory but sells plenty of stainless-steel containers to corporate clients, says he’s not worried about the bans at schools impacting industry sales. 

“I might have cause for concern if we sold to a lot of school end-buyers,” he explains. “But they typically prefer to advertise on plastic bottles because they’re much cheaper, and many schools are on a budget.”

Still, despite shifting spending patterns overall, people still want their stainless steel – and their name brands. New data on ESP’s most popular search terms reveal a growing preference for Owala, steadily increasing each month and year over year, while Hydro Flask, Stanley and Nalgene all saw significant drops between July and August 2025.

Promo companies should continue to monitor the situation as more schools potentially prohibit stainless-steel water bottles from entering their gates. In the meantime, the teenagers will keep chugging ice cold beverages from their Owalas – even if they have to wait until after school.