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Parents are not strangers to making complicated decisions about what to feed baby: Breast or bottle? Soy or milk-based formula? Pre-packaged or homemade baby food? But choosing what supplies you’ll use to feed baby—from bottles to sippy cups to dishes and utensils to bibs to high chairs—can be just as important as what foods you’ll introduce. Choosing green baby feeding supplies can have a big impact on baby’s health and the health of the planet.

Plastic: Bibs, bottles, spoons, and everything in between

The health hazards posed by plastic baby toys have been making headlines at an alarming rate. Perhaps even more alarming, though, are the findings that plastic baby feeding supplies and accessories may leach the same toxic chemicals as toys. The effect of this toxic leaching could be even more pronounced since these items are designed to spend a good deal of time in the grips of Junior’s jaw. By nature, all plastic products are detrimental to the environment, but two specific types of plastic—polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polycarbonate—are especially dangerous in baby’s cups and spoons.

Regardless of plastic type, plastic baby products are made from petroleum, a non-sustainable resource whose extraction and production has caused major environmental damage to soil, surface and ground waters, and local ecosystems. The production of petroleum also contributes to global warming.

The plastics industry as a whole releases millions of pounds of toxic waste into the air, water, and soil each year, and represents 7 percent of the 5.7 billion pounds of toxic chemicals released by all manufacturers each year. Upon disposal, plastic products can leach BPA, lead, and other toxic additives into the ground and drinking water supplies when placed in a landfill.

PVC

PVC is a soft plastic (identified by a #3 in the recycling triangle on the product), making it a prime choice for baby feeding supplies like bibs and teethers. This softness is attained, however, through the use “plasticizers”, members of the phthalate family of chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer and organ damage. The manufacture of PVC creates toxic pollution, threatening the health of both factory workers and the communities surrounding factory sites. Ninety percent of the phthalates used today are used to make PVC.[1]

Incineration of PVC products produces dioxins and furans, which are among the most toxic environmental contaminants and are known carcinogens. Recycling is not an option with PVC plastic: one PVC item can contaminate a batch of 100,000 recyclable bottles.[1]

Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate plastic (identified by th #7 in the recycling triangle)—used in the manufacture of over 90 percent of major baby bottle and sippy cup brands—requires bispehol A (BPA) to give the plastic clarity, durability, and flexibility, but the substance can liquefy and leach into drinks. BPA has been linked to cancer, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity, and is especially dangerous to fetuses and children under the age of 3. A study by Consumer Reports found that babies could be exposed to BPA in a dosage that is 40 times higher than the infant exposure safety level from these common plastic bottles.[2]

On April 18, 2008, the Canadian government became the first to ban BPA from baby bottles, stating that the action was a result of a review of 150 worldwide studies on the chemical. Canada's action, as well as the April 14 release of a US National Toxicology Program report that expressed concern that BPA could cause behavioral changes in infants and children and trigger early onset of puberty in females, led one US senator to call for similar action in the states.

Mega-retailer Wal-Mart announced it would immediately pull all baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, food containers, and water bottles made with BPA from the shelves of its Canadian stores, and said they will do the same in US stores by next year. Playtex and water bottle maker Nalgene also announced that they they will cease production of products containing the chemical.

Conventional cotton: Nursing pillows and bibs

Feeding supplies like bibs and nursing pillows are often made from conventional cotton. Conventional cotton is considered to be the world's most pesticide-intensive crop. The production of conventional cotton results in about $2 billion worth of harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers being sprayed on the global cotton supply each year.[3] In the US, an estimated one-third pound of agricultural chemicals are used to produce a single cotton T-shirt.[4]

The various chemicals used to treat conventional cotton can harm beneficial insects and soil micro-organisms, pollute ground and surface water, and adversely affect the health of humans and wildlife—including fish, birds, and livestock. Additionally, up to 70 percent of genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds are used in conventional cotton farming in the United States. Along with eschewing the use of chemicals and GMOs, organic cotton production nurtures soil health and fosters biologically diverse agriculture.

Wood: High chairs and utensils

Traditional wooden high chairs and other furniture are often made from mahogany and other tropical hardwoods, which are harvested by clear cutting environmentally sensitive areas. The majority of this wood comes from the world’s rainforests. In fact, an area of rainforest the size of 37 soccer fields is cut down every minute.[5]

These forest ecosystems are critical to maintaining life on Earth. They filter the air, stabilize climate by absorbing CO₂, and provide habitat for 90 percent of all land-dwelling plant and animals species. The deforestation caused by traditional wood harvesting leads to erosion, run-off pollution in waterways, global warming, and loss of wildlife habitat.

As demand for wood and other forest products has grown, many groups have worked to develop a management system that promotes responsible forest practices to protect trees, soil, waterways, and wildlife while maximizing the quality and quantity of timber. Choosing wooden high chairs that are certified sustainable ensures that baby’s first seat at the dinner table came from properly managed forests.

There are several organizations certifying lumber but only one is preferred by green experts worldwide: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC accredits certifiers, who in turn use auditors to inspect timber operations (only those that voluntarily request FSC certification) to guarantee that trees are sustainably harvested using forestry practices that maintain the diversity of native species, prevent over-cutting, protect watersheds and ensure long-term forest management.

Related health issues

PVC contains lead, which can cause developmental and learning problems, lower intelligence, behavioral problems, cancer, strokes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, anemia, cavities, and delayed puberty. A The Center for Environmental Health - An Unnecessary study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that lead exposure may be linked to almost 300,000 cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. PVC also contains phthalates, which can cause reproductive problems, premature birth, early onset of puberty, impaired sperm in men, genital defects, and reduced testosterone production.

BPA has been linked to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity. Phthalatates can leach out of plastics and disrupt reproductive systems, and both phthalates and BPA are considered hormone disruptors. BPA has also been shown to cause female-like development in male test animals and early onset of puberty in females, as well as increased hyperactivity and aggression in animals.

Glossary

• bisphenol A (BPA): A chemical building block used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Studies have linked BPA to hormone disruption, increased breast and prostate cancer cell growth, and early onset puberty, and obesity.
• genetically modified organism (GMO): A GMO is created by merging the genetic make-up of two organisms, resulting in a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature. Engineering GMOs is a common practice in conventional farming, and studies have shown that GMOs pose significant environmental risks such as killing off living, natural organisms and becoming immune to pesticides.
• phthalates: A group of chemicals used as plasticisers in PVC plastics that are known to be testicular toxins and can disrupt hormones.
• polyvinyl chloride (PVC): A strong plastic polymer that can be made flexible through the use of plasticizers. These plasticizers, not the PVC itself, can be toxic and carcinogenic. However, the monomer used to make PVC, vinyl chloride, is carcinogenic, posing a serious health threat to the people who work at factories where PVC is created.

External links

• American Society for Quality - Quality News Today: Plastic is Parents’ Latest Fear: Some Baby Bottles and Kids’ Cups Leach Chemicals, Reports Say
• ABC News - Chemical Threat in Plastics? An ABC News video report about bisphenol A in plastic baby products.
• About.com - Chemicals in your Child's Environment: Hidden Dangers
• Center For Health, Environment and Justice - PVC: The Poison Plastic
• Environment California - Phthalates and BPA safe shopping guide
• Environmental News Network - PVC-free Baby Products: Some Companies Are Far Ahead
• The Green Guide - Product Report: Plastic containers Scroll through to the last page for a shopping guide of brands to buy and those to avoid for children's feeding equipment.
• Institute for Agricultural and Trade Policy - Smart Plastics Guide
• National Resources Defense Council - Good Wood: How Forest Certification Helps the Environment
• Pesticide Action Network North America - The problems with conventional cotton
• PVCInformation.org
• US Geological Survey - Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Production: Initial Results from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Sites, Osage County, Oklahoma
• Rainforest Alliance - Conserving Forestlands