In a move clearly designed to exploit the misguided media confusion over the baby industry's most successful puberty hastening plastic compound, a publicity-craving, yuppie boutique in Bentonville, Arkansas has grandly announced that it will stop carrying baby products with BPA by "early next year" in its US location, and "immediately" in its Canadian store.
The boutique, Wal-Mart, apparently did not read the JPMA's carefully crafted reassurance on the website, babybottle.org, which states that according to the scientific data, BPA is irrefutably safe. [Actually, the quote is, "There is irrefutable data available on the safety of bisphenol A." Exactly, just what I said. Right?]
No, instead these confused, science-hating Arkansan yuppies were led astray by governmental declarations that BPA is toxic and that it poses a health risk to infants. And then they throw out bogus excuses about "customer demand" and how BPA-free gear sales have been increasing fivefold the last few months.
Fortunately, Americans [note: yes, includes Canadians] will see right through this stunt; and Wal-Mart will soon return to its well-deserved irrelevance and obscurity.
Wal-Mart to Pull Bottles Made With Chemical BPA [washpost]
Previously: JPMA's members make the safest BPA baby bottles around
The same Walmart that promised to remove the Nazi t-shirts from their stores? (http://consumerist.com/348776/walmart-nazi-tshirt-watch-week-62)
I'm no hippie, but I just want to say that BPA is NOT a good thing. Any scientist can say anything. I have a friend that has had his cancer linked to BPA.
Plastic is not natural so why would we think this is good? Fire retardants were thought to be a good thing...now they know it causes cancer and is no longer going to be allowed in beds, couches etc.
posted by: B at April 18, 2008 9:38 PMMaybe I'm overly cynical, but my guess is that Wal-Mart is getting rid of BPA things for the same reason that they're adding organics. People want this, and Wal-Mart, whatever its flaws, is very very good at giving the people what they want.
And, given Wal-Mart's market influence, I predict that this will have a major effect on baby bottle production VERY quickly. The JPMA may not care about babies, but they do care about Wal-Mart's buying power.
posted by: Jennifer at April 19, 2008 10:42 AMOkay, yay for wal-mart. But, what I want to know is, what's the BPA rating on Ikea Stuff?!?!?! I went to the Z recommends site and there's no mention of BPA and IKEA (in the same post, that is). How does one find the BPA ratings on the five millions little plastic bowls and cups cramming one's bottom kitchen drawer?!?!?
posted by: stephanie at April 20, 2008 3:11 PMStephanie...I guess you, me, and a whole boatload of other parents will all know in about ten years what the effect of BPA on Ikea stuff was/is.
[BPA is in polycarbonate, the clear, hard plastic. Ikea kidstuff is almost wall-to-wall polypropylene, which has neither BPA nor phthalates. -ed.]
posted by: John at April 21, 2008 2:14 AMWe run one of the highest ranked online stores [...] for BPA-free bottles and organic baby products and our demand is way up. Our BPA-product sales have grown over 300% so far this year alone.
Also, Canada is banning all BPA baby bottles. It's really dangerous stuff, take a look at the research.
[wow, and all without advertising? -ed.]
posted by: James Paden at April 22, 2008 3:55 PM