Eileen Gunn
If you have a BabiesRUs near you, give it whirl. At best you can exchange your bottles for a safer brand you would prefer. At worst, you can hand them over without a credit and put it on ToysRUs to dispose of them safely or send them back to its suppliers.
ToysRUs promises to sell only BPA-free bottles by the end of this year, but New Jersey and Connecticut stores I visited recently had displays that were bulging with Avent, which is owned by Royal Philips Electronics(PHG Quote - Cramer on PHG - Stock Picks), and Dr. Brown's bottles while whatever alternatives they offer were out of stock. Winding up with a pile of bottles that its customers don't want would probably spur the company to stock up on the better bottles more quickly. Or skip the middleman. A parent on my local ParkSlopeParents listserve suggested returning bottles directly to the manufacturers. "Personally I am so angry that Avent seems to not take this seriously and refuses to make non-BPA bottles," she wrote. "I cannot understand a company willing to take a risk with children's health." I know her frustration. The FDA still considers polycarbonate a safe plastic for food-related use. But there's a lot of information out there suggesting it might not be 100% healthy, particularly for small children. Alternative materials exist and competitors use them, so why not play it conservative when it comes to the tiniest consumers and make the switch? Below are the addresses for the makers of Nalgene water bottles as well as three prominent baby gear companies that are still cramming store shelves with polycarbonate bottles (Avent is the only one of the four that has no alternative plastic bottle on shelves or on the way).
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