Your Green Review

The Rundown:

What: Born Free Drinking Cup for 9 months+ (volume: 9oz-290ml)

Price: $10.99 through the Born Free website

Materials: PES (Polymer), Polypropylene and silicone

What Makes it Green: The Polypropylene container is both recyclable and a safe alternative to potentially hazardous BPA leaching containers. Because it transitions, it minimizes waste by eliminating the need for both bottle and cup.

URL: http://www.newbornfree.com/

Pros:

• Free of Bisphenol-A, Phthalate and Polyvinyl Chloride

• Transitions from bottle to training/drinking cup. Keep the bottle and just change out the nipple inserts when your child is ready to transition to the next stage. Without having to purchase both bottles and cups it may also save some $.
• Claims to reduce symptoms of colic with venting system. According to Born Fee, its ‘low vacuum valves’ decrease gas, spit up and the risk of middle ear infections by allowing fluid to flow freely and eliminating the need for excessive sucking.
• It’s dishwasher safe. The system breaks into seven pieces (bottle, handle, silicone vent, vent cover, spout, collar and cap) for effective cleaning in hard to reach nooks and crannies.
• Hard spout sooths teething gums. The company claims that the hard but flexible spout offers relief to teething gums.

Cons:

• It leaks like crazy. The cup currently has a rating of 2.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.com. The most common complaint? Leakiness. However, despite the suggested age range of 9 months+ for the cup, the packaging does read ‘free flowing’.
• Spout opening widens. The company claims that the spout sooths teething gums, but because it’s not hard plastic, chewing can widen the spout opening and worsen the aforementioned leaking issue.
• Return Policy. The Born Free return policy reads as follows on the website: “You may return UNOPENED merchandise within two weeks of purchase. We will refund the returned merchandise after inspection provided the product has not been tampered with and that it is suitable for resale. In the even of defective merchandise, or if you think that the baby product you purchased is defective in any way, we will replace your product right away.” Unfortunately, issues such as leaking, not considered a defect for this cup, are only discovered upon opening an using the product.

*YGR contacted the company about the leaking and asked if they would offer a refund. The customer service rep. stated that Born Free can not accept opened items but suggested purchasing a training cup nipple.

Plastics Identification Basics:

• Polycarbonate plastics are hard and clear, instead look for opaque plastics with a little more give.
• Polycarbonate plastics may have recycling #7 inside the ‘chasing arrows’ and the letters PC printed on the bottom. #7 is a misc. recycling category so not all plastics with the #7 are polycarbonate.
• Look for polyethylene plastics (stamped with the #2) and polypropylene (stamped with the # 5) as alternatives to polycarbonate plastics.

Alternatives:

The Born Free drinking cups have a number of great features but have a few issues which may make it unappealing to some parents. If the Born Free line works for you, you can find their products online and in stores near you. If not, consider purchasing other BPA-free plastic cups like Think Baby, Green to Grow and Sassy or try plastic alternative containers including:

• Stainless Steal
• Aluminum
• Glass
• Plastic

Read More:

The National Resources Defense Counsil-Endocrine Disrupters/Plastics (Fact sheet)

http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/qendoc.asp#disruptor

The Environmental Working Group-Guide to Safe Bottles and Formula (Fact Sheet)

http://www.ewg.org/babysafe

The Green Guide-Plastic Containers 101 (Fact sheet)

http://www.thegreenguide.com/products/Kitchen/Plastic_Containers

Quick Start-Plastic Products at a glance (Fact Sheet)

http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/pdf/plasticchart.pdf

Z Recommends-Find more reviews and purchase BPA free bottles (Website)

http://astore.amazon.com/zrecs-20