"Ron Vigdor, the founder and CEO of BornFree, sells trust. More precisely, he sells baby bottles for about $5.50 that are guaranteed to contain no bisphenol A, a chemical that is widely used in $1 baby bottles. An increasing number of young parents are worried about the toxicity of BPA in bottles made with an older plastic, so they're putting their trust in Vigdor's BPA-free bottles as fast as he can make them.
Vigdor began selling his bottles in Whole Foods grocery stores in 2006, and his production capacity has grown to 1 million a year. The established companies -- which sell about 60 million baby bottles annually -- are now marketing their own BPA-free bottles and cutting production of older models. Still, the demand for BornFree products is so high, Vigdor said, "the company has had to fly orders by FedEx next-day air" from its factory in Israel. He expects that a larger manufacturer will buy his firm at a premium someday. 'Let the bidding begin,' he said with a laugh.
This shift in demand away from low-cost items toward 'green' products is one element of the increasingly commonplace convergence of economic issues and social trends, of business and culture. To promote his bottles, Vigdor has formed a marketing partnership with a Los Angeles-based anti-BPA advocacy group, Healthy Child-Healthy World. He has also testified in favor of an anti-BPA bill in California and works with the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, one of many Washington groups seeking to restrict the use of BPA.
The measure would regulate every chemical outside the drug and pesticide industries, which already have rules, said Andy Igrejas, manager of the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental advocacy campaign, who helped draft the bill in cooperation with the Environmental Working Group. If enacted, it would control the dye used in carpets, the plastic in computers, the paint in offices, the seats in autos, the pipes in plumbing, and much, much else. It's an ambitious goal, yet Igrejas and other proponents contend that they are making progress because the public is growing more concerned about stories of lead paint on toys and other environmental controversies."
WASHINGTON - The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, today announced that The California Endowment will support up to two health impact assessment (HIA) demonstrations in California.
More infoThe Health Impact Project and National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) have chosen the 10 public health institutes (PHIs) that will participate in a two-day, in-person, health impact assessment (HIA) training at the Pew Conference Center in Washington, DC, November 29-30, 2011.
More infoThe Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Mentorship Project has selected four local health departments and mentor organizations to participate in a joint effort to complete an HIA. The Mentorship Program came about through the combined efforts of the Health Impact Project and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
More info"In 2007, developers of a planned senior-housing project in Oakland, California, decided to move the entrance from adjacent to a busy highway to a quiet courtyard. The change would make it safer for residents as they walked to and from home. The idea, from an Oakland-based group called Human Impact Partners, addressed a small but nonetheless important health concern that might otherwise have been ignored."
"The importance to public health of environmental decisions—including those about land use, transportation, power generation, agriculture, and environmental regulation—is increasingly well documented. Yet many decision makers in fields not traditionally focused on health continue to pay little if any attention to the important health effects of their work."
More info"The otherwise-routine reauthorization of the Consumer Product Safety Commission this year demonstrated the environmental movement's growing clout over the chemical industry. The new law, advocates say, reverses long-standing practice because it requires the chemical industry to prove the safety of some products before they reach the public."
More info"This summer, when Kellogg recalled 28 million boxes of Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Corn Pops and Honey Smacks, the company blamed elevated levels of a chemical in the packaging."
"Now, new research suggests that atrazine may be dangerous at lower concentrations than previously thought. Recent studies suggest that, even at concentrations meeting current federal standards, the chemical may be associated with birth defects, low birth weights and menstrual problems."
More infoAndy Igrejas, manager of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Environmental Health Campaign, today issued the following statement in response to the "Green Chemistry" package passed by the California legislature.
More info"Children's advocates say they hope a sweeping consumer protection law passed by Congress last week will begin a broad national effort to shield youngsters from dangerous chemicals."
More info"Congress has passed sweeping legislation to improve the safety of toys and other consumer products."
More infoCongress is venturing into new regulatory territory with a recent ban on several varieties of the plasticizing chemicals known as pthalates. Usually government agencies regulate products on the market, but environmental health advocates say this latest ban shows Congress is picking up the slack on chemical regulation. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with Andy Igrejas of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Environmental Health Campaign.
More infoAndy Igrejas, manager of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Environmental Health campaign, today issued the following statement in response to the ban on phthalates in children’s toys and childcare articles that was included in the conference agreement on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act.
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