The Ripple Effect: Liberty Bottleworks

By Heather Caro

What can a water bottle hold?

If it’s crafted by Liberty Bottleworks, a new manufacturing company based in Union Gap, a bottle can hold more than just 24 or 32 ounces. It can hold vision, work ethic and art.

But then, these aren’t your average water bottles.

Liberty Bottleworks is the brainchild of Yakima resident Tim Andis, 40, who once worked for a high-end outdoor equipment supply company. While filling retail needs for companies such as REI, Andis often received requests for aluminum water bottles produced domestically, rather than shipped from manufacturing plants in Europe or China. But after an exhaustive search, Andis found that no such product existed.

Understanding the demand for American-made bottles, Andis enlisted the help of longtime business partner Ryan Clark, 35, and with private capital, the pair set out on a novel manufacturing venture: Liberty Bottleworks.

Their goal was lofty: to produce bottles while keeping every part of production in the U.S., and local if possible. Thus all machinery and products had to be American-made. When they found some machinery didn’t exist, they had it custom built. One Liberty machine – the “body maker,” which is used in the first stage of bottle production – has only one twin, and it’s used to fabricate missiles for the U.S. government.

What’s more, the duo committed to using sustainable manufacturing techniques. The “green” company uses 100 percent recycled aluminum to produce its bottles, which retail for $16 and $18. The bottles are BPA-free; Bisphenol A is a controversial chemical used in the manufacture of containers.

Last year, in the midst of the national recession, Liberty began production at a Union Gap warehouse once occupied by Western RV. To much acclaim, Liberty rolled out its first bottle in October and quickly secured big-name retailers such as REI, Whole Foods Market and Amazon and is also available at Yakima’s Sporthaus.

And against economic odds, they continue to grow.

Today, Liberty Bottleworks has more than 50 employees, many of whom were unemployed. Clark believes that a “bootstrap” work ethic reminiscent of glory days in American manufacturing is essential to the country’s economic recovery — and a key to Liberty’s success.

“It’s not about swapping jobs, it’s about making jobs,” he says. “Water bottles are a vehicle for us to do that.”

But, innovation aside, what most consumers notice first about a Liberty bottle is the artwork.

The custom bottles are digitally printed with art commissioned by often little-known artists from across the country, and each bottle is stamped with Liberty’s “Made in America” insignia. And through Liberty’s Artist Program, 1 percent of all bottle proceeds go to benefit the nonprofit organization of each artist’s choice.

“It’s not by people from the office who just crank out artwork,” explains Clark. “It’s the most relevant art we can have.”

The result is colorful art as varied as the artists who create it — and from sometimes surprising sources.

In fact, when the Liberty design crew wanted to add a line of popular graffiti-inspired bottles to their collection, they decided to look in their own backyard.

“We wanted to impact kids,” says Clark, whose search for a local graffiti artist eventually led to Stanton Academy, an alternative high school in the Yakima School District. Eugene Holmes, Stanton’s Graphics Design instructor, put Liberty in contact with two talented students – Angel Cornejo, 17, and Bernardo Barragan, 18. Cornejo was often quiet and withdrawn in class and Barragan admits he once was in trouble with the law for choosing a less-than-ideal canvas for his art. But through Stanton’s Graphics Design course, the two found a productive outlet for their art and eventually began to excel.

With guidance from Ricky Pond, Liberty’s art director, the students submitted 12 designs for the bottles, of which six were chosen for production.

Barragon hopes to continue his artwork and possibly design a clothing line someday. “When you have a passion for something, you have to keep going at it,” he says with a grin.

Barragon’s and Cornejo’s line, Graffiti Kids, is featured in the 2011/2012 Liberty Bottleworks catalog. A percentage of proceeds from their bottle sales will go toward providing art supplies for Stanton Academy.

Liberty remains modest about the company’s effect on the community.

“We are nothing more than a little pebble — we’re pretty real about that,” says Clark.

But while Liberty Bottleworks may still be a “little pebble,” its inventive business model continues to create big ripples locally and beyond.

What we love about Liberty Bottleworks

If Liberty Bottleworks hasn’t yet made it on your “reasons to love Yakima” radar, be sure to put them front and center. The dynamic local company is creating a national buzz with distinctive bottles and vintage American values. Here are few reasons to make one your own.

•The “Click” Top – The quarter-turn top takes a little getting used to, but once you do there is no going back. It even passed our exclusive “accidently-packed-upside-down-in-a-backpack-without-spilling-a-drop” test with flying colors.

•Not just another pretty face – Liberty bottles sport commissioned artwork by artists across the country – some of them local – through the Artist Program. Featured artists receive a cut from bottle sales and an additional 1percent of proceeds go toward a nonprofit organization of the artist’s choice. Organizations such as Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, National Park Service and The Conservation Alliance are among the organizations that benefit from bottle sales.

•Made in the USA – Union Gap, to be precise. Liberty produces the only aluminum bottles made in the United States – and they’re more than a little proud of that fact. The insignia and company values herald back to the golden years of American manufacturing and a “bootstrap” work ethic.

•Drink responsibly – Made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, these bottles are also recyclable. And bottles that don’t meet production-line standards are either recycled or donated to the relief effort in Haiti.

•Safe Sipping – Liberty bottles are nontoxic and BPA-free. They are also lined with a flexible coating that binds to aluminum to avoid metal leaching and won’t chip or flake off – which means they are also dishwasher safe for easy clean up.

Liberty Bottleworks • Libertybottles.com