3.6.2009 2:12 PM

6 More Companies to Stop Using Bisphenol A

Also see How to Avoid Bisphenol A and Phthalates.

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Photo: Istock

By Dan Shapley

Six more companies will stop selling baby bottles and other products for babies that are made with Bisphenol A, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (may it -- and its fine reporting staff -- survive to report the follow-up story).

Playtex Products Inc.
Gerber
Evenflo Co.
Avent America Inc.
Dr. Brown
Disney First Years

The decision comes after legal pressure from the attorneys general of several states, lead by Connecticut -- showing that effective action protecting the public from suspect and dangerous consumer products can come from the states, when the federal government fails to step in (though patchwork regulation and regulation-by-lawsuit is not ideal).

Canada has done more to crack down on Bisphenol A than any other nation. It banned baby bottles with Bisphenol A in baby bottles, while the U.S. has dithered on regulating the chemical, which mimics estrogen. While the National Toxicology Program has raised concerns about Bisphenol A's potential to disrupt the normal development of fetuses and babies, and the Environmental Protection Agency has been criticized for failing to consider the cumulative effect of hormone-disrupting chemicals that Americans are routinely exposed to, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to regulate the use of Bisphenol A.

Several manufacturers (like Nalgene) and retailers (like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us) have taken steps to stop using or selling certain products with Bisphenol A, particularly baby bottles and reusable water bottles. Suffolk County, N.Y., this week passed a ban on the sale of baby bottles and sippy cups made with Bisphenol A, apparently the first in the nation. (California and other states had bans defeated last year.) The Suffolk County bill still needs the signature of its executive.

For more information about Bisphenol A and the other ubiquitous hormone-disrupting chemical of the moment, phthalates, see The Daily Green's How to Avoid Bisphenol A and Phthalates.

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