Wakefield, 17 January 2011 -- We've just set up a new toll-free number - for North America - so if you need to contact us in person, feel free to call during our office hours, which are Monday to Thursday from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm (EST) or leave a message at any time. We don't have a call center staffed by hundreds, so if by chance you don't reach us, please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we possibly can. 

Wakefield, 7 December 2010 -- In the global realm of bisphenol A (BPA) bans, the past few weeks have shown cause for both dismay and celebration.

On November 17th, as part of the complex negotiation processes leading up to the passing of the Food Safety Bill in the US Senate, industry lobbyists - in particular the ubiquitous mouthpiece for chemical manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council - managed to derail a bipartisan Senate agreement that would have created a national ban on the use of the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and children's sippy cups. In the words of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Senator leading the charge for the BPA ban, "I don't understand how a chemical group would oppose taking a chemical which, at the very least, may impact the endocrine systems of infants [out of products] because they want to make money on it...very, very frustrating."  The bill passed in the Senate on November 30th without the BPA ban. Read more here.

Then on November 25th, the European Commission passed a ban on the use of BPA in children's baby bottles across the European Union (EU). As of March 1, 2011, it will be illegal for EU companies to manufacture polycarbonate infant feeding bottles with BPA. And as of June 1, 2011, the placing on the market and the importation into the EU of these bottles will be prohibited. John Dalli, European Commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Policy, has said, "It cannot be excluded that there might be an effect [caused by BPA] on the development, immune response or tumour promotion." Read more here.

Two very different political responses to the same issue - each with global impacts. 

Wakefield, 2 December 2010 -- You may have noticed that the look of our website is progressively changing. Please bear with us as we are making some welcome changes to our banner and the rest of the site, all of which will improve the navigation and the overall experience.

We are switching to new banners using stunning, lush images from our friend Michel Bury, nature photographer extraordinaire. The design integration is being carried out by another of our dear friends, graphic designer and musician extraordinaire Alise Bowler. These banners better reflect what this business is all about and we are very proud of them. We have also added breadcrumbs in the shopping section to make it easier to navigate from page to page, as well as a new wish list component which will allow you to let your friends and family know of products you would like to suggest they purchase for you. This wish list may be used as a gift registry for weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, etc.

We would love to receive your comments. Please let us know what you think of this new design and if there is anything else we can do to further improve the website and your experience in using it: info at lifewithoutplastic dot com.

Wakefield, 21 November 2010 -- As the holiday season fast approaches, it is good to be reminded how much plastic is given and received, and especially destined for children and babies. Because babies tend to put everything into their mouth at the beginning of their life-long world discovery process, it is particularly important to select toys that are not toxic. All plastics contain synthetic chemicals. There is no such thing as a pure plastic without any additives. As Dr. Arlene Blum (http://arleneblum.com) explained to us during her TEDxGPGP presentation on 6 November 2010, some plastics contain up to 100 different chemicals, from flame retardants to toxic colours.  Keeping this in mind, it is particularly important not to offer plastic toys to babies. Their developing bodies and brains are so vulnerable, and their innate habit of putting everything in the mouth brings plastic residues into the little body fast and directly.

To illustrate how often babies put objects into their mouths, take a look at this time lapse video, which lasts 2 minutes but covers a period of 4 hours during which a baby was filmed playing in his environment (interaction with the parents was edited out). Try and count how many times the baby puts the plastic objects that surround him in his mouth. Astonishing!

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