Target employees, internet users, and consumers alike are outraged by the recent outbreak of mismatched Owala bottles in stores. A trend on TikTok shows customers swapping the lids between various bottles to create their desired color combination. Seems harmless in theory, right? The key point is that these are unpurchased products that are being tampered with, forcing many stores to label products as damaged and consequently dispose of the mismatched bottles.
The Owala bottles in question come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the FreeSip is the most frequent victim of lid swapping. Named after its unique spout that has both a built-in straw and a wide mouth to drink from, the FreeSip comes in several quirky color combinations, including Retro Boardwalk, Candy Coated, and Can You See Me? Because of the array of shades, lids often match several bottles, giving fans some creative freedom. But that doesn’t mean there’s a reason to steal — Owala sells lid replacements for only $6.99, so customers should be able to mix and match their sets affordably.
Why is lid swapping a problem?
Though some may think making these mismatched bottles is a victimless crime, many are affected by the trend. For instance, the swapping is causing excessive amounts of waste and an added hassle for store employees.
One Target employee told Business Insider that their store was finding four to five mismatched bottles a week and even more during the back-to-school season. Stores must adjust their inventories for what the Target employee called “Frankenstein” bottles, or all of the less-desirable lids and bases leftover from swapping. According to the employee, the workers are told to “damage out two bottles per one swapped bottle to account for the fact that it was a Frankenstein creation from two existing colors.” Meaning the employees are throwing out Owala bottles.
Not shockingly, excessive lid swapping is also hindering customers’ shopping experiences. The swapping of lids in the Owala section has become so chaotic that it has made it impossible to guess which lid combination was correct. Some TikTok users are even calling themselves “victims of the Owala lid swapping,” after they purchased a bottle in person, only to later realize that their bottle is completely different from the original online version.
So how do we stop this mix-and-match madness?
Though there doesn’t seem to be one unanimous consensus, many internet users have their own solutions for the lid-swapping epidemic. Some users in the Owala subreddit suggest that stores lock the bottles behind glass like they would for electronics or video games. Others suggest that Owala should use preventative packaging like plastic wrap to keep the lid and the bottle together, but the brand has failed to take any additional measures thus far.
“We encourage customers to please refrain from lid-swapping or altering bottles in any way prior to purchase,” Owala told Spoon University in an email. “Doing so disrupts the unique color combinations we work diligently to create, can prevent fellow Owala fans from finding the products they wish to purchase, and can cause an unnecessary drain on time and resources.”
However, some stores have also found their own fix to the lid-swapping problem: just keep selling the Frankenstein bottles. Though a temporary solution, it may cause issues with online ordering, another Target employee told Business Insider.
There doesn’t seem to be a definite solution, but one thing is for certain: even though lid-swapping calls for unlimited color combinations, it does ruin the creativity that the OG Owala bottles have.