How to Buy BPA Free Baby Bottles

With all the toy recalls and increased awareness of the benefits of organics, parents are more aware than ever about dangers that plague their children. All parents want to give their babies the best start and buying bisphenol-A (BPA) free baby bottles is a smart way to limit some possible risks, even though science has said that BPA is safe. Here's how to buy BPA free baby bottles.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Look for a recycle number on the bottom of the bottles. Many polycarbonate products are not recyclable, so if there is a recycle number on the bottom, you may have run across a "safe" plastic. A recycle number has a triangle made of three arrows around it and is usually molded into the plastic.

2. Note the recycle number. Certain recycle numbers are said to be safer than others. Steer clear of numbers 3, 6 and 7. Numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 are said to be safer. Categorizing plastics by recycle number is under some debate, so use your best judgement as to which plastics to buy.

3. Visit sites like BornFree where they specialize in BPA free plastic bottles. They are made from a new plastic called polyamide that does not have any known health risks. These BPA free bottles are more expensive than some others, but peace of mind is well worth any price.

4. Try glass bottles. Even though plastic is ingrained into parents' minds as what baby bottles are made of, glass bottles do still exist. Evenflo and BornFree currently have glass bottles on the market, and Dr. Brown is working on new bottles as well.

5. Check out zrecs.blogspot which gives several articles and ratings about which companies care about what plastic they are putting in your children's bottles. They have a comprehensive bottle rating system and have tested several sippy cups as well.

Resources

• Click here to visit BornFree Natural Baby Products.
• Go to the zrecs.blogspot by clicking here.

[swoops]

on 9/29/2008 Thanks for the great article. There’s a lot of helpful information in there. I just wanted to let you and others know about a new product I came across. They are called Bevibags. They are completely BPA free. They are disposable drink bags, that you fill yourself. It enables you to fill the bag with whatever you want, instead of having to buy prefilled juice boxes. I can now mix water with whatever juice I want to give my kids and not have to worry about them getting all that sugar from store bought juice boxes. The best part is that they are disposable. No washing, no cleaning. Just use it and throw them away. I found them at www.bevibags.com

[len811]

on 4/18/2008 The first statement is incorrect, I think. All plastic can not recycled. The triangle does NOT mean it can be recycled. The number indicates the base type of plastic used. Whether an item can be recycled depends on things other than the base type of plastic. Other components are added to impart special properties and those may mean the product can not be recycled.