In 1998, Platypus hydration systems were acquired by Cascade Designs, an industry leader in innovative solutions for outdoor adventures.
Cascade Designs is located in Seattle, Washington, and they specialize in outdoor recreational products.
Platypus has made water bottles and hydration equipment for over twenty years. They continually research, develop, and test new technologies to elevate their products to the next level.
They even have their own certified, world-class water laboratory, allowing them to continuously develop and improve their products. Their goal is to provide customers with the safest, most effective, and dependable hydration and filtration options available. They’ve done quite well thus far, with thousands of reviews to support their claims.
Alongside sustainable manufacturing practices, Platypus supports organizations such as IMBA, Evergreen MTB, and the PTCA, which promote outdoor activities like mountain biking. When the time comes, their employees even go out and do trail work themselves.
Platypus’ mission is to “offer the finest taste-free and adventure-ready water filtration products on the planet”. After over twenty years of working on this, we ask – is Platypus still made in the USA? We’ve delved in and have the results.
Verdict: Is Platypus Made in the USA?
Most Platypus products are made in the USA; however, some of their products are made in Ireland. Some of their accessories are also manufactured overseas in China and Vietnam.
They’re pretty transparent about the manufacturing process on their product web pages. Under the ‘tech specs’ tab on each product page, they list where each one is made. They have some products that are “Made in the USA”, ‘Made in the USA of US and Imported Materials”, and “Assembled in the USA of US and Imported Materials”.
Although their product pages are transparent about where they’re manufactured, very few of them disclose the manufacturing location if it’s not in the US. On their “Our Values” webpage, it says that they provide jobs in Midleton, Ireland, which suggests that this is their only international site.
However, some of their accessories list them as being made in China and Vietnam. Although they may not source these from overseas, they could be sourced by a local supplier who imports them; however, this isn’t entirely clear.
These are the only specific references to other countries listed under ‘origin’ in the item descriptions. For the main products, all those listed as ‘made from imported materials’ don’t state where these materials are sourced.
Platypus does appear to be committed to reducing its carbon footprint, though, implying that offshore production is only done as a ‘necessity’. In these cases, they also employ third-party auditors to ensure working conditions and labor practices are being adhered to.
In addition, they state that by only keeping products in the USA and Ireland, it “minimizes the inefficiency of shipping products around the world, only to ship them out again”. Once again, this implies that their products that are made in Vietnam and China are perhaps sourced more locally.
Although not all of their products are made in the USA, Platypus aims to manufacture the majority of its products at its Seattle site. When this isn’t possible, they aim to minimize pollution by using their sister site in Ireland, where they can also monitor the quality of their products, which is clearly very important to them.
Popular American Made Platypus Products
Popular Platypus Products Not Made in the USA
- Platy Water Tank (made in the USA out of U.S and imported materials)
- QuickDraw™ Microfilter System (made in the USA out of U.S and imported materials)
- Big Zip™ EVO (made in the USA out of U.S and imported materials)
- GravityWorks™ Water Filter System (4.0 liter – made in the USA out of U.S and imported materials. 6.0 liter – assembled in the USA out of U.S and imported materials)
- Drink tube insulator (made in Vietnam)
- Reservoir cleaning kit (made in China)
