I’ve been on the BPA Bandwagon big for the past two weeks. Funny how having a baby changes your perspective.
When Mountain Equipment Co-Op was pulling the bottles from their shelves last year, I was aware of what was going on, but I didnt make the connection between sport drinking bottles and our son’s bottles. Now I’m a BPA Nazi.
And not everyone is hearing the message.
Earlier this week Starbucks was serving up free coffee to anyone who swung through with a portable coffee mug. Guess what most of them were probably made of? BPA. Have a look. If your mug is plastic and has a 7 on the bottom, it’s, most likely, made of the nastiness. A colleague of mine was in Starbucks downtown checking out the mugs and you have to actually remove the price tag (you know the one that still doesnt accurately reflect exchange rates) to see the recycle number. Clever.
I do my groceries at Save-On-Foods and had to swing through the baby aisle to pick up some teething cookies for Z. Guess what their entire section of baby bottles consisted of? Avent. It’s a GREAT bottle, it’s what we used. It’s also one of the worst offenders when it comes to BPA.
Here’s what’s on the Avent BPA FAQ site this week (which, for the record, is different than last week):
Do Philips AVENT baby bottles contain Bisphenol A (BPA)?
Philips AVENT reusable bottles, such as the AirFlex, are made from polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate plastic is approved for use and lawful for sale in every country where Philips AVENT products are sold, including in North America and Europe. [source]
They never did answer the question. Do they contain BPA? Yes. But they won’t admit to it. Instead, they throw up another misdirecting question.
Do ALL Philips AVENT feeding products contain Bisphenol A (BPA)?
No. Our range of baby feeding products also includes products made from materials other than polycarbonate, hence not containing BPA. The Philips AVENT Via Feeding System, Tempo Liners and Magic range (Cups and Sportster) are made from polypropylene or polyethylene, neither of which contains BPA. [source]
Okay, ALL Avent bottles may not have BPA, but guess what? The ones that most of us are using DO contain BPA and the company refuses to fess up to it.
Zrecs is a fantastic blog for info on BPA, they have done research on each and every baby bottle brand. They put Avent in their POOR list, the worst:
Dale Wytiaz, Avent America’s Vice President of Sales for North America, currently serves on the board of directors of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which has maintained an aggressive stance in favor of polycarbonate plastic in public statements made as recently as February 2008. Avent is also listed as a member of the Coalition for Consumer Choice, a pro-BPA group which promotes anti-regulatory messages on behalf of major toy, feeding product, and trade organizations.[source]
And you wonder why I think these companies are just like big tobacco?
Avent sells a microwave sterilizer for your bottles. One of the ways the BPA is leeched out of the plastic is by heating the bottles. Nothing like sterilizing your baby’s bottles with toxin. We had one, thankfully our micro was too small for it to fit.
My blog’s traffic has seen a huge spike since I’ve been writing about BPA as the message spreads. You can see it in my GoogleAds at the bottom of each post. Most of them are BPA related.
The ironic thing is that while I have continued my attack on Avent and calling them out as a BPA offender, their ads continue to show up on my site. No doubt they have AdSense seeking out their name as a keyword to attach an ad to blogs and sites.
So here I am ripping them as a producer of toxic products for babies, and they’re gladly advertising on the site. They have to pay everytime someone clicks on their ad. I just want it to be clear I am NOT profiting from this toxic manufacturer. I am taking my site revenue and donating it to Team Diabetes.
If you have these bottles in your nursery, return them to London Drugs and get a full refund. Then use the store credit to feed your children using Born Free, Green to Grow or Think Baby.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
He just dropped one of the best lines ever: “Radio is like smoking, you’ve got to start them young.”
Okay, we got an iPhone announcement. When we actually get an iPhone is still up in the air.
The last thing this planet needs is any more plastic in the landfills. But what do you do with your old polycarbonate water bottle (Nalgene or similar) that you don’t want to use any more? Don’t throw it away! With the incredibly handy LightCap200 you can turn your old (or new) bottle into the coolest home, deck, boat or camping lantern anywhere!
