Our Family
Co-owners, brother-sister team Michelle Kalberer and Jeff Cresswell.
We’ve always been more comfortable sitting around a campfire than a boardroom table, more at home on the trail than the corporate treadmill. So how did we end up launching a global company and starting a revolution?
It’s hard to imagine that back in the early 2000s you couldn’t buy a reusable, stainless steel water bottle in the United States. Plastic was pretty much your only option. When we sold the first BPA free stainless steel bottles in 2004, we figured a few folks might be into them. Today, reusable water bottles and coffee mugs are everywhere. Klean Kanteen has become an international brand and has inspired dozens of other companies to make reusable stainless steel products. We don’t mind. When it comes to kicking plastic, we’re all in this together.
Along the way, we’ve remained a family and employee-owned company. Turning down investor dollars isn’t always easy, but the freedom to stay true to our principles is worth it. If we want to share our profits with organizations we believe in, we can (and do). If we want to spend a few years developing a ground-breaking nontoxic, chip-resistant powder coat finish, we can (and did).
From the very beginning, Klean Kanteens have been built with love— the love of adventure, the love of conserving wild places and the love of replacing single-use plastic.
The Klean family extends to every employee at our Chico, CA headquarters, our operations overseas, and our dealers across the globe. Together, we're working to inspire change that makes the world a better, cleaner place. Learn more about what we're doing to support our Chico community!
Klean has deep roots in Chico, California, and we love to support our community by:
- Donating product to local organizations and schools to use in events and fundraisers.
- Providing Klean Kanteen water stations with free, filtered water at local events and family-friendly celebrations.
- Sponsoring and participating in local events like the Run for Food, Chico Wildflower Century Ride, Walk for Water, the Bidwell Park and Chico Creek Clean Up, and many others.
Additionally, Klean Kanteen staff is given 24 hours of volunteer time annually to support diverse nonprofits in our community.
Brand Impact Report
Let’s get specific about what we mean by using our business as a force for good. Explore our three areas of focus, people, planet and product, to learn more about the practices and initiatives that make up the backbone of our business and unique operating philosophy. Our 2019 Brand Impact Report is a detailed document about all elements of our company.