Into the Mouths of Babes: Green to Grow Bottles
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 11.16.07
Lloyd posted the other day on Camelbak’s intention to be the first company to offer consumers an bisphenol A free plastic alternative to durable polycarbonate bottles. And while their outdoor sports customers are looking forward to those rugged bottles being available in February 2008, another customer niche, that is equally as demanding of their product, already has an alternative.
Green to Grow produce baby bottles from Polyethersulfone (PES), BPA-free plastic that is stable of a wide range of temperatures and is said to be able to withstand repeated sterilization. It approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe for repeated use in contact with food. (Mind you, the FDA do give their stamp to some strange practices.) Green to Grow also spot test their line to ensure their remain free of phthalates (as found in PVC) and lead, providing further transparency by publishing those test results as PDFs on their site.
Nipples for their bottles are of a medical grade silicone that like the PES in the bottle is also considered heat-resistant and non-toxic. “The nipples are free of nitrosamines, a potentially harmful contaminant found in many rubber nipples.”
Their corporate responsibility extends to packaging using 100% recycled paper and soy inks and donating 1% of our annual sales to environmental causes, via their membership of 1% for the Planet. Plus Green to Grow have set up a program called Bottles to Babies to encourage families to donate pre-loved baby bottles to not-for-profits and they will donate new nipples for these re-used bottles. ::Green to Grow, via Haute Nature.
OMG, sooooo cuuuute!
Why not use glass?
No-one is saying you can't use glass. For many it would be the preferred option.
But glass baby are much heavier and therefore more awkward for junior to manage. Plus they are more prone to break when thrown with gusto from the high chair or stroller, as happens on more than a regular basis.
Bottles such as these from Green to Grow provide an alternative to glass. As always it is up to the buyer to make the decision that best suits their needs.
We have used these and they are great as well:
http://www.kleankanteen.com/
They get banged up a bit, but they rock. We the parents each have one too :)
Awesome more people are jumping onto the non/less toxic bandwagon.
The founders of Green to Grow are among our favorite people to work with. Their commitment to high quality products for our children comes through in everything they do. They foot the bill for that extra third party testing for toxic chemicals that many other companies won't. The bottles themselves are well designed, high heat resistant and durable.
I would never have imagined that glass bottles would come around again, but there is a great option at www.babylife.com. Their glass bottles have a non-BPA coating on the outside that eliminates slippage. I also love Sigg aluminum bottles at www.mysigg.com. I've take a huge interest after starting my own online organic baby boutique - Lolababiez