U.S., Chemical Dumping Ground
I didn’t need eyeliner to widen my eyes during today’s panel on hazardous chemicals in consumer products at the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference. The gist: “Products banned in Europe, Japan and even China are being dumped on the U.S. market,” said L.A. Times reporter Marla Cone. The reason? Because our regulations of industrial chemicals are lax or non-existent, we’ve fallen behind the world’s largest market, the European Union, which has banned toxic substances from cosmetics and electronics.
While Procter & Gamble reluctantly removed hormone-disrupting, fat-cell-feeding phthalates from its nail polish and other personal products in both the EU and U.S., many companies apply a double standard in the two markets, said Mark Schapiro, author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power (Chelsea Green, 2007). In the meantime, Schapiro noted, industry continues to fight labeling that would allow us to make informed choices. For instance, we have to guess at whether “Fragrance” in a body cream or shampoo is made with phthalates or not.
What to do? Type your cosmetics into the search engine at Environmental Working Group’s http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. If you can’t find it there-- as in the case of my Burt’s Bees Carrot Day Cream, which lists “fragrance” as an ingredient—you can search individual ingredients listed on the packaging, which EWG rates as green, yellow or red, depending on the level of risk. EWG rates “fragrance/parfum” as a “high hazard.” I was able to approximate the risk for my carrot cream by comparing it with a similar Burt’s Bees Milk n’ Honey Body Lotion, which also lists “fragrance” and gets a “moderate hazard” rating.
So, what’s “fragrance” doing in creams by Burt’s, which has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics? I called the company and asked. They assured me that their fragrance was all-natural essential oils and that all their products are phthalate-free. But if they don’t spell it out, there’s really no way that a consumer can be sure—in the U.S., at least.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
BPA/Phthalate-Free Plastics
Greener Food Serve n' Store: BPA/Phthalate-Free List, Part 2
For those not ready to surrender summer, eating out of doors extends the season’s light, carefree touch—especially with reusable or compostable picnic ware. Great for school and brown-bag lunches, too.
A Reader Asks: I want to know the best options for outside/ kids/ picnic dinnerware. Paper, bamboo still end up in landfills. Melamine lasts but is it eco-friendly? Plastic can be recycled and recycled, but who makes that? Answer: Each American produces, on average, about 4 and ½ pounds of trash a day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recycling, reusing and choosing post-consumer-recycled (PCR) products not only helps keep waste out of landfills, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by manufacturing and transporting new products and trash.
Melamine
Melamine is lightweight and reusable, and considered safe as dinnerware by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its eco-friendliness, however, remains indeterminate: Melamine, as a Chinese pet food additive that also made its way into some fish and livestock feed, made headlines in the recalls of potentially toxic products earlier this year.
If you’ve got melamine ware, it’s probably safe for normal use (as a rule, Greenerpenny advises against heating food in plastics). But when it comes to buying new, we may not want to throw our consumer demand behind the manufacture of this and other synthetics.
Recycled Dining Ware 100 percent recycled, washable dishes made from Stonyfield yogurt plates, cups and cutlery, from http://www.recycline.com/ 100 percent recycled (minimum 83 percent post-consumer), nonchlorine-bleached paper plates, http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Napkins Use washable cloth napkins or dishcloths, or choose processed chlorine-free (PCF), post-consumer-waste (PCW) paper napkins from http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Earth 1st, at http://www.safeway.com/ 365, at http://www.wholefoods.com/ Conventional Plastics Among petroleum-based plastics, some are more recyclable and least-toxic than others. When shopping for food storage containers, check recycling codes on the bottoms, as follows: Don’ts: Toxic, Not Recyclable #3 Vinyl or PVC (polyvinyl chloride), releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment and can leach hormone-disrupting phthalate plasticizers. PVC is used in many cling and stretch food wraps and films. #6 PS (polystyrene), that white spongey stuff of takeout coffee cups and clamshells, can leach styrene, a possible human carcinogen, when heated or in contact with fatty foods. OK: Recyclable, but not so Reusable #1 PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) containers are recyclable, but studies indicate that with repeated use, PET containers may release di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, linked to hormone disruption and cancer. #7 (miscellaneous), includes polycarbonate plastic, which contains hormone-disrupting bisphenol A. Do's: Recyclable, Least-Toxic #2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is widely recyclable. Do's: Least-Toxic, but not so Recyclable #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is used in some food wraps and sandwich bags. Reclosable Sandwich Bags, http://www.greenfeet.com/ Glad Cling Wrap, Sandwich and Food Storage Bags Saran Cling Plus Best Yet Clear Plastic Wrap Ziploc Bags Hefty Baggies #5 PP (polypropylene) is popular in reusable containers, though not frequently recycled. Rubbermaid (#5) 2 qt. Pour N Saver Canister, ($8.49, http://www.acehardware.com/) and 22-piece food storage set ($9.99, http://www.target.com/). Paper Sandwich Bags These are coated with “food-grade” petroleum-based wax: Unbleached waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.naturalvalue.com/ Unbleached recycled waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.treecycle.com/ Parchment paper, coated with silicone, http://www.kitchengifts.com/ New, Renewable Bio-Plastics The latest thing in food service ware for green-minded institutions, from Stanford University to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, are compostable (as opposed to “biodegradable”) utensils, takeout clamshells, plates and bowls made of corn-, potato- or sugarcane “bagasse”-based polymers. Many of these are washable and hence reusable. For products, go to: http://www.greenoffice.com/ http://www.biobagusa.com/ http://www.greenearthofficesupply.com/ http://www.pladirect.com/ http://www.nat-urstore.com/ http://www.simplybiodegradable.com/ http://www.worldcentric.org/ http://www.gaiam.com/ Although, as a general rule, these items can only be broken down by industrial-strength composters, they’re a respectable step in a green direction. Note: Look for the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)/ USA Composting Council (USCC) “compostable” label. Some cities pick up compostable plastics—check with your municipal solid waste department or see http://www.earth911.org/ Some Wild Oats markets, which use bioplastic takeout containers, will also take them back from consumers. Ask your local market/deli to follow suit. For locating bioplastic composters, go to http://www.findacomposter.com/.
For those not ready to surrender summer, eating out of doors extends the season’s light, carefree touch—especially with reusable or compostable picnic ware. Great for school and brown-bag lunches, too.
A Reader Asks: I want to know the best options for outside/ kids/ picnic dinnerware. Paper, bamboo still end up in landfills. Melamine lasts but is it eco-friendly? Plastic can be recycled and recycled, but who makes that? Answer: Each American produces, on average, about 4 and ½ pounds of trash a day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recycling, reusing and choosing post-consumer-recycled (PCR) products not only helps keep waste out of landfills, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by manufacturing and transporting new products and trash.
Melamine
Melamine is lightweight and reusable, and considered safe as dinnerware by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its eco-friendliness, however, remains indeterminate: Melamine, as a Chinese pet food additive that also made its way into some fish and livestock feed, made headlines in the recalls of potentially toxic products earlier this year.
If you’ve got melamine ware, it’s probably safe for normal use (as a rule, Greenerpenny advises against heating food in plastics). But when it comes to buying new, we may not want to throw our consumer demand behind the manufacture of this and other synthetics.
Recycled Dining Ware 100 percent recycled, washable dishes made from Stonyfield yogurt plates, cups and cutlery, from http://www.recycline.com/ 100 percent recycled (minimum 83 percent post-consumer), nonchlorine-bleached paper plates, http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Napkins Use washable cloth napkins or dishcloths, or choose processed chlorine-free (PCF), post-consumer-waste (PCW) paper napkins from http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Earth 1st, at http://www.safeway.com/ 365, at http://www.wholefoods.com/ Conventional Plastics Among petroleum-based plastics, some are more recyclable and least-toxic than others. When shopping for food storage containers, check recycling codes on the bottoms, as follows: Don’ts: Toxic, Not Recyclable #3 Vinyl or PVC (polyvinyl chloride), releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment and can leach hormone-disrupting phthalate plasticizers. PVC is used in many cling and stretch food wraps and films. #6 PS (polystyrene), that white spongey stuff of takeout coffee cups and clamshells, can leach styrene, a possible human carcinogen, when heated or in contact with fatty foods. OK: Recyclable, but not so Reusable #1 PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) containers are recyclable, but studies indicate that with repeated use, PET containers may release di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, linked to hormone disruption and cancer. #7 (miscellaneous), includes polycarbonate plastic, which contains hormone-disrupting bisphenol A. Do's: Recyclable, Least-Toxic #2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is widely recyclable. Do's: Least-Toxic, but not so Recyclable #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is used in some food wraps and sandwich bags. Reclosable Sandwich Bags, http://www.greenfeet.com/ Glad Cling Wrap, Sandwich and Food Storage Bags Saran Cling Plus Best Yet Clear Plastic Wrap Ziploc Bags Hefty Baggies #5 PP (polypropylene) is popular in reusable containers, though not frequently recycled. Rubbermaid (#5) 2 qt. Pour N Saver Canister, ($8.49, http://www.acehardware.com/) and 22-piece food storage set ($9.99, http://www.target.com/). Paper Sandwich Bags These are coated with “food-grade” petroleum-based wax: Unbleached waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.naturalvalue.com/ Unbleached recycled waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.treecycle.com/ Parchment paper, coated with silicone, http://www.kitchengifts.com/ New, Renewable Bio-Plastics The latest thing in food service ware for green-minded institutions, from Stanford University to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, are compostable (as opposed to “biodegradable”) utensils, takeout clamshells, plates and bowls made of corn-, potato- or sugarcane “bagasse”-based polymers. Many of these are washable and hence reusable. For products, go to: http://www.greenoffice.com/ http://www.biobagusa.com/ http://www.greenearthofficesupply.com/ http://www.pladirect.com/ http://www.nat-urstore.com/ http://www.simplybiodegradable.com/ http://www.worldcentric.org/ http://www.gaiam.com/ Although, as a general rule, these items can only be broken down by industrial-strength composters, they’re a respectable step in a green direction. Note: Look for the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)/ USA Composting Council (USCC) “compostable” label. Some cities pick up compostable plastics—check with your municipal solid waste department or see http://www.earth911.org/ Some Wild Oats markets, which use bioplastic takeout containers, will also take them back from consumers. Ask your local market/deli to follow suit. For locating bioplastic composters, go to http://www.findacomposter.com/.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Blubberware?
Non-Tubby Food Tubs
In Hawaii, where I’m from, you can’t stop guests bringing food, no matter what. Good local manners simply prevent your showing up empty-handed. The container of choice: classic, reusable Tupperware. It stands for something good and homemade, like Aunty Dot’s fruit Jello-mold or Mom’s chicken hekka.
Hence my brother Ethan’s distress when he heard on Honolulu talk radio about phthalates in some plastic containers that could migrate into your food and drink. Next, by popular demand: Greener Picnic Ware. “Apparently, men with higher levels of phthalates in their bodies have 3-inch bigger waistlines. The announcer called it blubberware,” said Ethan, who’s been fighting to keep his buff surf body since the arrival of child #3. “Do we have to throw out all our Tupperware?” The answer: No huhu (don’t worry). Tupperware’s a keeper, with just a couple of exceptions (see “Caution,” below). So use it—and reuse it—for picnics, commuting, back to school, parties and leftovers. Most Tupperware is made of plastics that have not been found to release Bisphenol-A (BPA, linked to hormone disruption, obesity and breast cancer in lab tests), or phthalates. These better plastic wares include: #2 HDPE, high-density polyethylene, also the most widely recyclable plastic: Tupperware FreezeSmart, Ice Cube Tray, Ice Tups Set and Jel-Ring Mold. #5 PP, polypropylene: Tupperware Modular Mates, Quick Shake Containers, One Touch Reminder Canister, and all Tupperware Bowls. The following are included, with other makers’ containers, in Greenerpenny’s BPA-free water bottle list, now on the home page at http://www.greenerpenny.com/: For kids: Thirstbreak Tumblers with straps, 14 oz, $13.50, or 32 oz On-the-Go version for $13, featuring Tinkerbell; an On-the-Go featuring Shrek, for $13.50. Lunch sets of sealed tumbler and sandwich box feature the Little Mermaid, Dora the Explorer and Diego, $16. For Babies: Pooh meal set with sealable sippy cup, bowl and snack cup, $17. For Commuters: 24-oz insulated (double-wall) Tumbler with Drip-less Straw Seal, $19.95, or Commuter Mug with swivel-open sipper cap, 16 oz., $18.50. Caution: Tupperware Rock ‘n Serve containers, meant to go directly from the fridge to the microwave, are made of #7 (the recycling code for “other” plastic, including polycarbonate), according to The Green Guide, http://www.thegreenguide.com/. As polycarbonate has been found in some tests to leach BPA when heated, this probably isn’t a good idea. The same goes for Tuppercare Baby Bottles, which are also polycarbonate, according to The Green Guide’s thorough research. And, while Tupperware Crystal Wave Microwave Containers are made of safer #5 plastic, Greenerpenny advises, as a precaution, heating foods in microwave-safe ceramic or glass, instead.
In Hawaii, where I’m from, you can’t stop guests bringing food, no matter what. Good local manners simply prevent your showing up empty-handed. The container of choice: classic, reusable Tupperware. It stands for something good and homemade, like Aunty Dot’s fruit Jello-mold or Mom’s chicken hekka.
Hence my brother Ethan’s distress when he heard on Honolulu talk radio about phthalates in some plastic containers that could migrate into your food and drink. Next, by popular demand: Greener Picnic Ware. “Apparently, men with higher levels of phthalates in their bodies have 3-inch bigger waistlines. The announcer called it blubberware,” said Ethan, who’s been fighting to keep his buff surf body since the arrival of child #3. “Do we have to throw out all our Tupperware?” The answer: No huhu (don’t worry). Tupperware’s a keeper, with just a couple of exceptions (see “Caution,” below). So use it—and reuse it—for picnics, commuting, back to school, parties and leftovers. Most Tupperware is made of plastics that have not been found to release Bisphenol-A (BPA, linked to hormone disruption, obesity and breast cancer in lab tests), or phthalates. These better plastic wares include: #2 HDPE, high-density polyethylene, also the most widely recyclable plastic: Tupperware FreezeSmart, Ice Cube Tray, Ice Tups Set and Jel-Ring Mold. #5 PP, polypropylene: Tupperware Modular Mates, Quick Shake Containers, One Touch Reminder Canister, and all Tupperware Bowls. The following are included, with other makers’ containers, in Greenerpenny’s BPA-free water bottle list, now on the home page at http://www.greenerpenny.com/: For kids: Thirstbreak Tumblers with straps, 14 oz, $13.50, or 32 oz On-the-Go version for $13, featuring Tinkerbell; an On-the-Go featuring Shrek, for $13.50. Lunch sets of sealed tumbler and sandwich box feature the Little Mermaid, Dora the Explorer and Diego, $16. For Babies: Pooh meal set with sealable sippy cup, bowl and snack cup, $17. For Commuters: 24-oz insulated (double-wall) Tumbler with Drip-less Straw Seal, $19.95, or Commuter Mug with swivel-open sipper cap, 16 oz., $18.50. Caution: Tupperware Rock ‘n Serve containers, meant to go directly from the fridge to the microwave, are made of #7 (the recycling code for “other” plastic, including polycarbonate), according to The Green Guide, http://www.thegreenguide.com/. As polycarbonate has been found in some tests to leach BPA when heated, this probably isn’t a good idea. The same goes for Tuppercare Baby Bottles, which are also polycarbonate, according to The Green Guide’s thorough research. And, while Tupperware Crystal Wave Microwave Containers are made of safer #5 plastic, Greenerpenny advises, as a precaution, heating foods in microwave-safe ceramic or glass, instead.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Lead-free Playthings
Poor Big Bird! Like a canary in a coal mine, this feathered icon took a toxic hit last week when 967,000 Sesame Street and Nickelodeon toys were recalled due to lead paint. Suddenly, these trusted educational brands were associated with a heavy metal that can cause learning disabilities. According to Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and top researcher into the developmental and behavioral harm caused by lead exposure, lead remains the number one environmental health threat to children in this country, despite its removal from gasoline and house paint over twenty years ago. Made in China between April 19 and July 6, 2007, more than 300,000 of the lead-painted Mattel/ Fisher Price toys were sold to U.S. consumers. For a list of recalled items, go to http://www.cpsc.gov/, the website of the Consumer Products Safety Commission. For photos of all the offenders, see Mattel's site, http://www.mattel.com/. Fisher Price’s hotline, 800-916-4498, provides info as well. You can return a recalled item for a voucher that will get you a substitute toy of the same price. This is small compensation to parents, burdened with taking the toys away and the hassle of mailing them. It’s small consolation to children, who, on top of being inadequately protected by government and industry, may be disillusioned to learn that Giggle Grabber Elmo, as well as various Big Bird, Ernie, Oscar or Cookie items, could hurt them. This, on the heels of the mid-June recall of 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends trains and accessories by RC2 Corp, and 17.9 pieces of leaded children’s jewelry and charms recalled since 2005, may make parents wonder--with good reason--if any toy is safe. “My children don’t have any Fisher Price toys, but I wonder about all kinds of toys made in China, like some other baby toys we have,” says Ethan Won, father of three young children in Honolulu. His first job after art school at the Rhode Island School of Design was in toy manufacture, Ethan says. “And the paint on the Chinese-made miniature cars my older boys play with is always chipping off and taking bits of the soft metal, and it looks like lead, which makes sense because the forms have to be stamped out of a soft material like that,” he adds. Time to grab those giggles elsewhere! Below are some safer alternatives for children under three, who are most likely to put toys in their mouths and thus ingest lead. The following toys are also PVC-free and therefore free of phthalates, the hormone-disrupting chemicals used to soften this brittle plastic. Some PVC children’s products can also contain lead. Lead- and Phthalate-Free Toys Instead of the Sesame Street Shape Sorter, which is being recalled, give a Wooden Shape Sorter Puzzle, $22.95, or Wagon, $54.95, both made in Germany. Slightly older tots may like the challenge of a rubberwood Shape-Matching Puzzle, made in Thailand of fast-growing rubberwood, $19.95. All from The Playstore, http://www.playstoretoys.com/ Instead of lead-contaminated Elmo Stacking Rings, why not the charming new Witty Worm Stacker, crowned by a smiling antenna’ed head, in rubberwood from Rosie’s Hippo, http://rosiehippo.com/ ? The wooden Rainbow Stacking Tower with waterbased stains has triangle-shaped pieces, $29 from Nunoorganic, http://www.nunoorganic.com/. Classic wooden doughnuts fit on a Rocky Color Cone, $18.95 from Holgate Toys, http://www.holgatetoy.com/,which uses Forest Stewardship Council certified wood when it can. To console a child who’s had to surrender a Big Bird Collectible figurine, present an irresistible Bird Family Pull Toy with 3 bright birds in nontoxic colors and rubberwood, $29.95 and new from Rosie’s Hippo, above. While children who want to make a joyous sound had better not try it on the lead-painted Elmo Saxophone, they might enjoy a 4-tone train whistle, made in the U.S. from pine wood, $5.20 at http://www.mapleandmarks.com/, or a Hohner harmonica, made in Germany, $18.95, from Rosie’s Hippo. Adorable and affordable wooden trains, made in Vermont, include zoo animal, construction and emergency vehicle sets, $19 and up at Maple Landmarks, above. Before the Thomas train sets, there were (and still are) Brio wooden sets with nontoxic paint. Very pricey, but hey, they’re heirlooms, and a few go a long way. Cute wooden animals, too. http://www.briotoys.com/ For plastic toys comparable to the recalled Fisher Prices, see http://www.mrtoys.com/chicco-toys/ Other Tips: Avoid toys made in China as much as possible, unless the toy company can assure you that they do regular lead tests independently of their Chinese contractor, and/or the CPSC implements stricter regulations. Ideally, companies will provide independent third-party certification of lead-free composition for every toy. For a Toy Report Card that lists PVC-free manufacturers, see www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/2003-toy-report-card Why buy toys at all? In summer you and the children can play outside, skipping stones on the water, making leaf and gourd boats, paper airplanes, twig teepees, sand castles or clothespin dolls, collecting shells or interesting pebbles, watching birds, or blowing bubbles.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Bye-Bye, BPA
BPA/ Phthalate-Free Shopping List
Part One: Drinking Bottles
It’s hot! Time to hydrate. And while you’re at it, every time you refill a reusable water bottle, rather than buy disposables, you’re helping the Earth’s health, too. If all Americans did so, we’d save the estimated 16 million barrels of oil used to make the bottled-water containers we bought last year. This from the August Harper’s Index, (http://www.harpers.org/), which also notes that twice as much water was used to make the containers as was drunk from them.
Choose the right reusable bottle, and you won’t get bit by the chemicals that can leach from some plastics in these sizzling dog days.
Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been found to cause developmental harm in animals, and there’s preliminary evidence of reproductive harm in women. And, while a family of plasticizers known as phthalates has long been linked to cancer and hormone disruption in lab animals, studies in 2005 and 2006 show some connection to genital abnormalities and lower testosterone in infant boys. This inspired a worried phone call from my brother Ethan Won, father of three young boys, ages 5 months, 4 and 6 years. “I’ve been hearing about all these chemicals coming out of plastics. Some plastics smell really bad, especially in the heat,” says Ethan, who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. “And what about when we warm the baby’s bottle?”
A good question, as many clear plastic baby bottles, along with some of those pretty Nalgene Lexan bottles in transparent jellybean colors, are made of polycarbonate (recycling code #7) plastic, which has been found to leach BPA when heated, worn or scratched. “We always want kids’ products to be safe in any way they’re used,” says Sonya Lunder, M.D., a scientist with the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org/), which encourages consumers to seek alternatives to polycarbonate bottles, especially for babies and children.As Greenerpenny reader Bridget Collins writes,“I am very interested in shopping for products that do not contain BPAs. My kids are active and use water bottles several times a day!”
While it doesn’t accumulate in our bodies,“with BPA detected in about 95% of people in a recent CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] test, we can assume that most of the American population has daily exposure,” Lunder says. These chemicals may also play a role in the development of obesity and diabetes, according to a 2006 Spanish study of BPA and a March, 2007 article on phthalates in Environmental Health Perspectives. Even if fat is “contagious,” as raised by a study in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, it’s far less extreme to drop risky plastics than an overweight friend.
Below are the safest, greenest and most affordable reusable bottles we could find. Pennypinchers, rejoice: In addition to keeping disposables out of landfills, and conserving the tons of carbon dioxide otherwise released in shipping, bypassing bottled water can save each of us about $1,400 a year, by the estimate of New York City officials.
Top Pick: Stainless Steel
Go plastic- and petrochemical- free with 100% stainless steel, the most recycled metal.
Perfect for kids or those of us who feel oppressed by heavy totes, Klean Kanteen’s lightweight, 12 oz volume stainless bottles are the same size as soda cans; caps have a stainless interior and non-leaching polypropylene (#5) top. From $13.95 to $22.95 for a 40-ouncer. For better totability, order a loop cap with a hole in it, or neoprene insulating sling or sleeve that snaps around pack straps, bike or stroller bars. At http://www.kleankanteen.com/
Slightly cheaper stainless bottles are $11.95 for 27 oz or $19.95 for 40 oz from http://www.greenfeet.com,/ which also sells Klean Kanteens.
Thermos 18 oz. stainless steel Hydration Bottle with stainless interior and exterior vacuum insulation walls; $17 at http://www.thermos.com/; insulated sleeves also sold.
Preferable Plastics
You can identify better plastics by the recycling code numbers stamped in them. Look for reusable bottles made of:
#2 (HDPE, high-density polyethylene, the most widely recyclable)
#4 (LDPE, low-density polyethylene) or
#5 (PP, polypropylene).
These plastics have not been found to release BPA or phthalates.
On the other hand, most single-use water bottles are made of #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE). These bottles, if old, reused or heated, may release two phthalates: Di(2-ethylhexyl adipate), or DEHA, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), which are possible human carcinogens, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And, although this plastic is easily recyclable, about 90% of the PET water bottles sold each year wind up in landfills. After all, they’re made to be tossed!
Top Plastic Picks:
Nalgene HDPE #2 Loop-Top Bottle, 16 oz, $4.99, http://nalgene-outdoor.com/store/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=6
Tupperware for Keeps:
For Kids: Tupperware’s polypropylene #5 bottles include colorful Thirstbreak Tumblers with straps, 14 oz, $13.50, or 32 oz On-the-Go version for $13, featuring Tinkerbell; an On-the-Go featuring Shrek, for $13.50.
Ideal for picnics or back-to-school: #5 lunch sets of sealed tumbler and sandwich box feature the Little Mermaid, Dora the Explorer and Diego, $16.
For Babies: Pooh meal set with sealable sippy cup, bowl and snack cup, $17.
For Commuters: 24-oz insulated (double-wall) Tumbler with Drip-less Straw Seal, $19.95, or Commuter Mug with swivel-open sipper cap, 16 oz., $18.50.
All at http://www.tupperware.com/
Easiest to Grab and Go: Rubbermaid’s Polypropylene #5 Chug Sports Bottle, about $3.99 for 20 oz size, widely sold at supermarkets, drugs and home improvement stores or http://brands.hardwarestore.com/196-1453-rubbermaid.aspx or http://www.amazon.com/.
Sigg Aluminum Bottles
No doubt about it, these lined aluminum bottles are light, beautiful and strong. And doubts about possible BPA leaching from Sigg’s patented epoxy linings have been laid to rest by tests commissioned by the company in May, 2007. After water was heated in the bottles for 3 days, no detectable residues of BPA were found, and EWG, as of this writing, has agreed to remove from its website its warnings about Sigg.
Available in 4 colors, the .6 liter Traveler Classic is $18, and .3 liter Travelers or children’s bottles picturing friendly mammals, dinosaurs, vehicles and the sun, are $15.95, with some NOW ON SALE for $10.95; patterned .4 liter kids’ versions cost $17.95, all at http://www.reusablebags.com/
Given the environmental ravages caused by the mining of bauxite for aluminum, however, and the 75% more energy consumed in the production of aluminum, according to the Worldwatch Institute, from raw materials as opposed to recycled metal, reusable bottles could be a lot greener if they were made from post-consumer-recycled stock.
BPA-free Baby Bottles
Glass
Evenflo Glass Baby Bottles, 4 or 8 oz., three for $8 at http://www.ingeling.com/
made of opaque colored #4 LDPE
Bornfree Glass Baby Bottles, 9 oz, two for $19.99 or four for $37.99 at http://www.newbornfree.com/
Non-Polycarbonate Plastic
Medela breastmilk storage and feeding set, white #5 PP, four bottles, $18.99 at http://www.target.com/
Gerber Fashion Tints, #5 PP in opaque colors, 9 oz, three-pack for $4.99 at http://www.thebabyoutlet.com/
Bornfree Polyamide (PA) plastic baby bottles, 9 oz, six for $57.99, eight for $77.99, both sets include nipples and a free trainer cup, http://www.newbornfree.com/
Bottle Brushes
Tip: In a pinch, you can always use a chopstick, tip of a long-handled spoon or a twig to work in a sponge, dish cloth–or the hem of your t-shirt.
Twister baby bottle brush with soft, non-scratching sponge, $10 at http://www.newbornfree.com/
Natural coir (coconut fiber) brush on a long wooden handle, best for glass or unlined stainless (might scratch plastic or epoxy linings); $2.95 at
http://store.greenfeet.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=6005-01073-0000
Classic Baby Bottle & Nipple Brush Set from Evenflo, $1.98 at http://www.netkidswear.com/nipbotbrus.html
Coming Next: List #2, Food Storage
Please share this info with interested friends, and send them to http://www.greenerpenny.com/
Thanks,
Mindy
Part One: Drinking Bottles
It’s hot! Time to hydrate. And while you’re at it, every time you refill a reusable water bottle, rather than buy disposables, you’re helping the Earth’s health, too. If all Americans did so, we’d save the estimated 16 million barrels of oil used to make the bottled-water containers we bought last year. This from the August Harper’s Index, (http://www.harpers.org/), which also notes that twice as much water was used to make the containers as was drunk from them.
Choose the right reusable bottle, and you won’t get bit by the chemicals that can leach from some plastics in these sizzling dog days.
Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been found to cause developmental harm in animals, and there’s preliminary evidence of reproductive harm in women. And, while a family of plasticizers known as phthalates has long been linked to cancer and hormone disruption in lab animals, studies in 2005 and 2006 show some connection to genital abnormalities and lower testosterone in infant boys. This inspired a worried phone call from my brother Ethan Won, father of three young boys, ages 5 months, 4 and 6 years. “I’ve been hearing about all these chemicals coming out of plastics. Some plastics smell really bad, especially in the heat,” says Ethan, who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. “And what about when we warm the baby’s bottle?”
A good question, as many clear plastic baby bottles, along with some of those pretty Nalgene Lexan bottles in transparent jellybean colors, are made of polycarbonate (recycling code #7) plastic, which has been found to leach BPA when heated, worn or scratched. “We always want kids’ products to be safe in any way they’re used,” says Sonya Lunder, M.D., a scientist with the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org/), which encourages consumers to seek alternatives to polycarbonate bottles, especially for babies and children.As Greenerpenny reader Bridget Collins writes,“I am very interested in shopping for products that do not contain BPAs. My kids are active and use water bottles several times a day!”
While it doesn’t accumulate in our bodies,“with BPA detected in about 95% of people in a recent CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] test, we can assume that most of the American population has daily exposure,” Lunder says. These chemicals may also play a role in the development of obesity and diabetes, according to a 2006 Spanish study of BPA and a March, 2007 article on phthalates in Environmental Health Perspectives. Even if fat is “contagious,” as raised by a study in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, it’s far less extreme to drop risky plastics than an overweight friend.
Below are the safest, greenest and most affordable reusable bottles we could find. Pennypinchers, rejoice: In addition to keeping disposables out of landfills, and conserving the tons of carbon dioxide otherwise released in shipping, bypassing bottled water can save each of us about $1,400 a year, by the estimate of New York City officials.
Top Pick: Stainless Steel
Go plastic- and petrochemical- free with 100% stainless steel, the most recycled metal.
Perfect for kids or those of us who feel oppressed by heavy totes, Klean Kanteen’s lightweight, 12 oz volume stainless bottles are the same size as soda cans; caps have a stainless interior and non-leaching polypropylene (#5) top. From $13.95 to $22.95 for a 40-ouncer. For better totability, order a loop cap with a hole in it, or neoprene insulating sling or sleeve that snaps around pack straps, bike or stroller bars. At http://www.kleankanteen.com/
Slightly cheaper stainless bottles are $11.95 for 27 oz or $19.95 for 40 oz from http://www.greenfeet.com,/ which also sells Klean Kanteens.
Thermos 18 oz. stainless steel Hydration Bottle with stainless interior and exterior vacuum insulation walls; $17 at http://www.thermos.com/; insulated sleeves also sold.
Preferable Plastics
You can identify better plastics by the recycling code numbers stamped in them. Look for reusable bottles made of:
#2 (HDPE, high-density polyethylene, the most widely recyclable)
#4 (LDPE, low-density polyethylene) or
#5 (PP, polypropylene).
These plastics have not been found to release BPA or phthalates.
On the other hand, most single-use water bottles are made of #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE). These bottles, if old, reused or heated, may release two phthalates: Di(2-ethylhexyl adipate), or DEHA, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), which are possible human carcinogens, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And, although this plastic is easily recyclable, about 90% of the PET water bottles sold each year wind up in landfills. After all, they’re made to be tossed!
Top Plastic Picks:
Nalgene HDPE #2 Loop-Top Bottle, 16 oz, $4.99, http://nalgene-outdoor.com/store/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=6
Tupperware for Keeps:
For Kids: Tupperware’s polypropylene #5 bottles include colorful Thirstbreak Tumblers with straps, 14 oz, $13.50, or 32 oz On-the-Go version for $13, featuring Tinkerbell; an On-the-Go featuring Shrek, for $13.50.
Ideal for picnics or back-to-school: #5 lunch sets of sealed tumbler and sandwich box feature the Little Mermaid, Dora the Explorer and Diego, $16.
For Babies: Pooh meal set with sealable sippy cup, bowl and snack cup, $17.
For Commuters: 24-oz insulated (double-wall) Tumbler with Drip-less Straw Seal, $19.95, or Commuter Mug with swivel-open sipper cap, 16 oz., $18.50.
All at http://www.tupperware.com/
Easiest to Grab and Go: Rubbermaid’s Polypropylene #5 Chug Sports Bottle, about $3.99 for 20 oz size, widely sold at supermarkets, drugs and home improvement stores or http://brands.hardwarestore.com/196-1453-rubbermaid.aspx or http://www.amazon.com/.
Sigg Aluminum Bottles
No doubt about it, these lined aluminum bottles are light, beautiful and strong. And doubts about possible BPA leaching from Sigg’s patented epoxy linings have been laid to rest by tests commissioned by the company in May, 2007. After water was heated in the bottles for 3 days, no detectable residues of BPA were found, and EWG, as of this writing, has agreed to remove from its website its warnings about Sigg.
Available in 4 colors, the .6 liter Traveler Classic is $18, and .3 liter Travelers or children’s bottles picturing friendly mammals, dinosaurs, vehicles and the sun, are $15.95, with some NOW ON SALE for $10.95; patterned .4 liter kids’ versions cost $17.95, all at http://www.reusablebags.com/
Given the environmental ravages caused by the mining of bauxite for aluminum, however, and the 75% more energy consumed in the production of aluminum, according to the Worldwatch Institute, from raw materials as opposed to recycled metal, reusable bottles could be a lot greener if they were made from post-consumer-recycled stock.
BPA-free Baby Bottles
Glass
Evenflo Glass Baby Bottles, 4 or 8 oz., three for $8 at http://www.ingeling.com/
made of opaque colored #4 LDPE
Bornfree Glass Baby Bottles, 9 oz, two for $19.99 or four for $37.99 at http://www.newbornfree.com/
Non-Polycarbonate Plastic
Medela breastmilk storage and feeding set, white #5 PP, four bottles, $18.99 at http://www.target.com/
Gerber Fashion Tints, #5 PP in opaque colors, 9 oz, three-pack for $4.99 at http://www.thebabyoutlet.com/
Bornfree Polyamide (PA) plastic baby bottles, 9 oz, six for $57.99, eight for $77.99, both sets include nipples and a free trainer cup, http://www.newbornfree.com/
Bottle Brushes
Tip: In a pinch, you can always use a chopstick, tip of a long-handled spoon or a twig to work in a sponge, dish cloth–or the hem of your t-shirt.
Twister baby bottle brush with soft, non-scratching sponge, $10 at http://www.newbornfree.com/
Natural coir (coconut fiber) brush on a long wooden handle, best for glass or unlined stainless (might scratch plastic or epoxy linings); $2.95 at
http://store.greenfeet.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=6005-01073-0000
Classic Baby Bottle & Nipple Brush Set from Evenflo, $1.98 at http://www.netkidswear.com/nipbotbrus.html
Coming Next: List #2, Food Storage
Please share this info with interested friends, and send them to http://www.greenerpenny.com/
Thanks,
Mindy
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Greenmarket Summer Dessert
Red, White and Blueberry Dessert
It’s the season to buy local strawberries and blueberries, fresh from the farm, at greenmarkets. Buying locally grown food also helps reduce emissions of the global warming gas carbon dioxide (CO2)—and air pollution—released by jets and trucks that transport food long distances. Shipping 30 pounds of groceries cross-country consumes about a gallon of gas and releases almost 20 lbs. of CO2.
Find a farmers’ market near you at http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm. If you’ve got room, freeze berries whole, and you can enjoy these colorful local treats in winter, too.
I made these quick, easy blueberry muffins for breakfast, and later that day the Green Man brought home a quart of succulent strawberries from the farmers’ market. After dinner, the muffins had a second act as strawberry shortcakes with whipped cream.
Blueberry Muffins
--adapted from the Mark Twain Library Cook Book, Mark Twain Library Association, Redding, CT, 1988.
1 and ¾ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
¼ cup raw demerara or turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg, well-beaten
¾ cup milk
scant 3 tablespoons butter
1 generous cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
Let butter soften at room temp; blend in sugar, egg and milk. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then fold into butter mixture, stirring quickly until just moistened. Add blueberries. Fill greased muffin pan 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins.
Correction for yesterday’s blog: For correct urls, plus prices for beach bags, plse go to http://greenerpenny.blogspot.com/2007/07/bird-friendly-beach-bags.html.
It’s the season to buy local strawberries and blueberries, fresh from the farm, at greenmarkets. Buying locally grown food also helps reduce emissions of the global warming gas carbon dioxide (CO2)—and air pollution—released by jets and trucks that transport food long distances. Shipping 30 pounds of groceries cross-country consumes about a gallon of gas and releases almost 20 lbs. of CO2.
Find a farmers’ market near you at http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm. If you’ve got room, freeze berries whole, and you can enjoy these colorful local treats in winter, too.
I made these quick, easy blueberry muffins for breakfast, and later that day the Green Man brought home a quart of succulent strawberries from the farmers’ market. After dinner, the muffins had a second act as strawberry shortcakes with whipped cream.
Blueberry Muffins
--adapted from the Mark Twain Library Cook Book, Mark Twain Library Association, Redding, CT, 1988.
1 and ¾ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
¼ cup raw demerara or turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg, well-beaten
¾ cup milk
scant 3 tablespoons butter
1 generous cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
Let butter soften at room temp; blend in sugar, egg and milk. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then fold into butter mixture, stirring quickly until just moistened. Add blueberries. Fill greased muffin pan 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins.
Correction for yesterday’s blog: For correct urls, plus prices for beach bags, plse go to http://greenerpenny.blogspot.com/2007/07/bird-friendly-beach-bags.html.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Bird-friendly Beach Bags
Dig it, Beach Birds!
Wherever you beach it, you can leave a smaller dent on the Earth with these greener bags:
Organic Cotton Beach Totes (Organic agriculture keeps synthetic pesticides and fertilizers out of our fresh water and our seas):
Cuteness with a Conscience: Volcom organic cotton Chirp Tote, natural color silkscreened with baby blue bird, with outer pocket, $23.99 at http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/prod/detail/0,,4176098,00.html or www.dogfunk.com, 1-877-DOG-FUNK.
Make a Statement with a capacious organic cotton bag that says “Clean Your Beach” in pink. With nautical rope handles, #23.99,from Roxy, http://www.hsssurf.com/detail.aspx?ID=7701,1-800-620-2951.
If the bag moves you, learn about your local beaches and how to ensure cleaner conditions, at www.surfrider.com/stateofthebeach
Recycled Tote:
Gecko Traders Recycled Wave Tote, made from reused rice and feed sacks, in choice of 3 bright colors (love the fish in orange/pink). $35.95, from Cambodia, Fair Trade Federation certified http://www.reusablebags.com/store/gecko-traders-recycled-wave-tote-p-739.html?osCsid=7ee4d7a35eed47643537bdd38b5cbc7d, 888-707-3873
Top Totable: Chemical-free Sunscreen. Don’t forget it!
Talk about adding insult to injury: If hormone-disrupting phthalates also cause proliferation of fat cells, as recent research suggests (http://thegreenguide.com/doc/121/fat), I really don’t want them in my sunblock, or anything else that goes on my thighs!
Rule to Remember: Avoid products with ingredients lists including the general disclaimer “Fragrance (Parfum),” without specifying that it’s made of natural plant essential oils. Phthalates are widely used in synthetic fragrances.
Choose a least-toxic sunscreen from our list at http://greenerpenny.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-green-sunscreens.html. Or grab one of the following phthalate- and paraben-free best picks at your drugstore.
Baby Avalon Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 18, www.avalonorganics.com
California Baby SPF 30+ Sunblock Stick, www.drugstore.com
Jason’s Natural Earth’s Best SPF 30+, price reduced now at www.drugstore.com
The companies above have signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) pledge to remove phthalates, parabens and other toxic ingredients from their products. See www.safecosmetics.org. Dr. Haushka, below, has not signed the CSC pledge because “We have already met, and surpassed their standards,” says Michelle Van Landingham, the company’s ingredients representative, explaining that the signatories have promised to phase out toxins but some are still in the process of doing so. “We’ll sign when the CSC adds a preface stating that a lot of the companies have met the standards,” Van Landingham says.
Which leads us to recommend an evergreen favorite: Dr. Hauschka Sunscreen Lotion SPF 15, www.drhauscha.com.
Speaking of recommendations, please send your friends to www.greenerpenny.com! And keep sending your great questions.
Happy Fourth!
Mindy
Caution: When considering a new product, try a test sample first to make sure the feel and fragrance don’t irritate.
Wherever you beach it, you can leave a smaller dent on the Earth with these greener bags:
Organic Cotton Beach Totes (Organic agriculture keeps synthetic pesticides and fertilizers out of our fresh water and our seas):
Cuteness with a Conscience: Volcom organic cotton Chirp Tote, natural color silkscreened with baby blue bird, with outer pocket, $23.99 at http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/prod/detail/0,,4176098,00.html or www.dogfunk.com, 1-877-DOG-FUNK.
Make a Statement with a capacious organic cotton bag that says “Clean Your Beach” in pink. With nautical rope handles, #23.99,from Roxy, http://www.hsssurf.com/detail.aspx?ID=7701,1-800-620-2951.
If the bag moves you, learn about your local beaches and how to ensure cleaner conditions, at www.surfrider.com/stateofthebeach
Recycled Tote:
Gecko Traders Recycled Wave Tote, made from reused rice and feed sacks, in choice of 3 bright colors (love the fish in orange/pink). $35.95, from Cambodia, Fair Trade Federation certified http://www.reusablebags.com/store/gecko-traders-recycled-wave-tote-p-739.html?osCsid=7ee4d7a35eed47643537bdd38b5cbc7d, 888-707-3873
Top Totable: Chemical-free Sunscreen. Don’t forget it!
Talk about adding insult to injury: If hormone-disrupting phthalates also cause proliferation of fat cells, as recent research suggests (http://thegreenguide.com/doc/121/fat), I really don’t want them in my sunblock, or anything else that goes on my thighs!
Rule to Remember: Avoid products with ingredients lists including the general disclaimer “Fragrance (Parfum),” without specifying that it’s made of natural plant essential oils. Phthalates are widely used in synthetic fragrances.
Choose a least-toxic sunscreen from our list at http://greenerpenny.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-green-sunscreens.html. Or grab one of the following phthalate- and paraben-free best picks at your drugstore.
Baby Avalon Natural Mineral Sunscreen SPF 18, www.avalonorganics.com
California Baby SPF 30+ Sunblock Stick, www.drugstore.com
Jason’s Natural Earth’s Best SPF 30+, price reduced now at www.drugstore.com
The companies above have signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) pledge to remove phthalates, parabens and other toxic ingredients from their products. See www.safecosmetics.org. Dr. Haushka, below, has not signed the CSC pledge because “We have already met, and surpassed their standards,” says Michelle Van Landingham, the company’s ingredients representative, explaining that the signatories have promised to phase out toxins but some are still in the process of doing so. “We’ll sign when the CSC adds a preface stating that a lot of the companies have met the standards,” Van Landingham says.
Which leads us to recommend an evergreen favorite: Dr. Hauschka Sunscreen Lotion SPF 15, www.drhauscha.com.
Speaking of recommendations, please send your friends to www.greenerpenny.com! And keep sending your great questions.
Happy Fourth!
Mindy
Caution: When considering a new product, try a test sample first to make sure the feel and fragrance don’t irritate.
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