bottle

NYC Water Gets Tap'D

scleaver — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

We all know that bottled water isn’t the best for the environment, partly because of the bottling, partly because of transportation, and partly because of all the hype about water sources (waterfalls in the rainforest cascading into bottles just for you, etc). But a new company in NYC, Tap'd, is tackling the clean water issue in a new way. Instead of importing water from flowing rivers that trickle down the mountains of Fiji, or wherever, Tap’d works with the NYC water department to purify the city’s tap water through reverse osmosis, bottle it, and sell it blocks away, cutting out transportation and giving New Yorkers a new water option.

Read more about the new company on Slashfood. Or, read the Tap’d Manifesto. Image from Tap'dNY.

Wine Redesigned

scleaver — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:51:17 -0400

If you’ve ever wondered whether or not the heavy glass bottles that contain your favorite Pinot Noir or Reisling affect the environmental impact of your bottle of wine, check out Fetzer Vineyards. “The earth friendly wine” in Northern California is switching bottles to a lighter weight glass to reduce shipping costs and the impact on the environment. The new Fetzer wine bottles are 14 percent lighter, which adds up to 2,200 tons of glass saved each year, and transporting less weight means using less fuel and resources.

Some wine connoisseurs bemoan the perhaps impending loss of the artisanal bottle, while others are excited about new packaging options. My favorite way to package wine: The Wine Cube from Target.

But, as The Associated Press reported, wine isn’t the only industry that’s reducing packaging weight, beer bottles are lighter, and aluminum cans and detergents are coming in smaller or redesigned containers as well.

Learn more at The Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Photo from The Food Section.

Change In A Bottle

scleaver — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:31:09 -0400

After restricting single-serving bottled water in 2007, Davis, CA is taking the next step in sustainability—losing bottled water entirely. In a new Reusable Water Bottle Initiative partnership with Nalgene, the city is trying to reduce their carbon footprint, waste, and emissions by encouraging reusable bottle use. Nalgene is donating water bottles to employees with the City, and proceeds from reusable bottle sales support the City’s sustainable programs. We’ve known for a while that bottled water produces a ton of waste. But, consider: the average consumer uses 167 water bottles, but only recycles 38 of them. That sends 38 billion bottles a year end up in landfills from U.S. consumers alone. Considering that 24 million gallons of oil is required to produce one billion bottles, it isn’t surprising that if we saved the energy we now use to create water bottles, we could power 190,000 homes. (Learn more at Nalgene's site.) In an era of high-tech filtration, there’s no need for bottled water. Learn more about filtration in general from AllAboutWater.org and figure out which filtration system works best for you at WaterFilterComparisons.com. Once you’re committed, take the pledge to go bottled-water free at Nalgene’s Filter For Good. Photo from: Nalgene.

Where To Find Baby Bottles Without BPA -- and Formula and Pacifers, Too

scleaver — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

We’ve gotten quite a response from the BPA-related articles, and everybody wants to know where to get BPA free formula, bottles, and baby products, and fast. So, here’s our guide to products that are practical, adorable, and, best of all, BPA-free.

Baby Formula

When it comes to baby formula, the Enviroblog recommends powdered—BPA is in the lining of aluminum baby formula cans and ready-to-feed baby formula that’s not diluted before feeding has the highest levels of BPA. The Environmental Working Group surveyed five baby formula companies in the U.S. and four (Nestle, Similac, Enfamil, and PBM) said that BPA is in the lining of the cans that hold their formula. BPA is also in metal in the powdered formula containers, but powdered is a better choice. According to the EWG, “babies fed reconstituted powder formula likely received 8 to 20 times less BPA than those fed liquid formula from a metal can.”

So, shopping for baby formula, the key is to reduce your risk. Enfamil and Similac powdered formula are sold in cardboard and metal cans that have less BPA. If you’re buying liquid formula, go for concentrate rather than ready-to-eat because adding the water to dilute it will reduce the BPA exposure.

Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups

When you’re buying bottles and cups, there are tons of BPA free options to choose from. And good thing too, because BPA can leach from plastic baby bottles into milk or other liquids that your baby drinks. General advice: stay away from bottles that are marked with the number seven, and use clear silicone nipples. Warm bottles in a pan filled with water, not the microwave, which cause chemicals to release into the milk and can heat unevenly.

Buy glass bottles if you can (Silikids and The Soft Landing both sell safe glass bottle covers). In the store, Playtex, Gerber, and Parent’s Choice (in Wal-Mart) all have BPA free bottle options (look for the BPA free labels and assume a plastic product has BPAs unless the packaging says otherwise). And, there are a host of newer companies with safe bottles and sippy cups:

The Adiri Natural Nurser is a uniquely designed bottle.

Born Free has bottles, nipples, trainer cups, and drinking cups for infants and toddlers.

Nurture Pure sells bottles and cups.

The Boon No Spill Sippy Cup is a two-piece sippy cup with a creative design.

Think Baby has a whole line of safe plastic baby bottles, covers, and nipples.

Get a full list of BPA free baby bottles recommended by Safe Mama at Amazon.com.

Pacifiers and More

Pacifiers are another product that end up in baby’s mouth and should be as safe as possible, and then there are all the other little plastic products (storage containers, spoons, etc) that you need to keep baby well fed. Here are some online shopping options to choose from:

The Razz Berry pacifier is all natural and designed to soothe teething babies.

The Natursutta pacifier is made of natural rubber without any nasty plastics or artificial colors.

Eco Piggy has all natural pacifiers, clothing, and other products.

One Step Ahead has a storage system of small plastic containers to store your homemade baby food, or just the leftovers.

For older kids (or you) Laptop Lunches is a lunch storage system that’s designed like a Bento Box.

Browse Munchkin for safe pacifiers, snack containers, and more.

For more baby recommendations, visit the Nature Moms blog.

Photo credit: the Razz Berry pacifier from Amazon.com

For more information on BPA, check out these stories:

BPA in Dental Plastic: Are the Fillings in your Teeth Dangerous?

BPA: The Dangers of Canned Food May Be Greater Than Plastics

BPA: 5 Tips to Avoid the Dangers in Plastics

Where to Find BPA-Free Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups

BPA: Plastic Products That Are BPA-Free

Your BPA Questions Answered

Where to Find BPA-Free Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups

scleaver — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:13:05 -0400

There's bad news and good news on BPA in plastic baby products, like bottles and sippy cups.

The bad news: BPA, bisphenol-A, a chemical found in plastics -- including baby bottles and sippy cups -- is linked to “changes in behavior and the brain” including hyperactivity and cancer, according to an Associated Press article in The Wall Street Journal, “Companies Move to Curb Risk From Chemical BPA. BPA doesn’t stay put; instead, it leaches into liquids and foods, creating obvious concern for parents.

The good news for babies everywhere: infant companies and retailers are responding to concerns of consumers, scientists and the National Toxicology Program concerns about BPA. On Friday, April 18, Playtex Infant Care announced that they’re converting to BPA-free material by the end of the year, and Wal-Mart is converting its baby bottle selection to BPA free products by 2009.

According to Gary Cohen, Vice President and General Manager at Playtex, “while US and worldwide regulatory bodies continue to deem the ingredient safe, as a leader in infant care products, we are listening to consumer concerns and believe the right thing to do is eliminate any confusion or concern that parents may have. For this reason, we will stop using BPA in our products this year and we offer consumers a chance to immediately switch to BPA-free infant products.”

While companies are busy pulling BPA bottles and replacing them with safer versions, you’ll already find tons of BPA-free products on the shelves. When shopping, however, remember that this BPA risk extends to many plastic products, not just bottles and sippy cups, but forks, spoons, pacifiers, and more.

Here’s where to find BPA-free products online:

1. Want to stick with plastic? BPA-free bottles and sippy cups are flying off the shelves at Diapers, Etc a site that also sells BPA-free pacifiers, spoons and forks.

2. Ready to go for glass? Especially in light of recent news, glass bottles are making a comeback. Learn about glass bottle feeding at the Natural Baby Store Web site. Then, grab a safe “Siliskin” plastic covering for your baby’s glass bottle at Calamari Baby, or a cute Wee Go bottle cover at Go Baby Life.

3. Here’s a list of what Playtex products are made of and how safe each is: Playtex Materials Chart.