Babies R Us taking returns of BPA bottles?

Norabelle writes:

"There are rumors that the Babies R Us stores will give you store credit for used BPA bottles because it is a safety hazard.  Each store can set its own policy regarding this issue.

I called one of our local stores.  Their policy is that if you were registered at Babies R Us, or have a receipt for bottles, they will offer store credit towards trading in your BPA bottles for different bottles.  Other stores don't require a receipt at all - call ahead to see where you can get the best deal.  I bet few if any moms have the receipts for bottles.  Sheesh, I can't even find my keys."

You and me both, sister. I don't have any baby bottles in the house anymore, but if I did I certainly wouldn't be able to find any receipts.

Let me make a shameless plug for you to buy high-quality aluminum (coated with an inert lining material) sport-top SIGG bottles from Amazon.com or ReusableBags.com*. They're expensive, but they last forever, and are safer than nalgene.

Use the comments section to post if the BRU in your area is taking back BPA bottles or not.


* If you buy through Amazon I get some cash on your purchase. But if you buy from ReusableBags.com you're buying from a smaller business, plus you can buy the Riesenthal bags that are so gorgeous I'd lick them if I could.

Comments

[edie]

Hi, I sent this tip to my sister-in-law who took a large stash of bottles back to BRU today. She did call ahead and speak to the manager to clear the deal before going (SF Bay Area). She got $50 store credit which she immediately applied to formula. Unfortunately she wanted the Dr. Brown's BPA-free poly bottles and they only had glass in stock, we are finding that most stores even if they are aware of the issue are selling the BPA and BPA-free bottles side by side. Still, it was great to have BRU take the bottles back, no receipt and no questions.

[theclevermom]

I don't have anything useful to add to this, except to say that here in Ontario, we just got finished with a major buy back via Zellers (kinda like KMart), Walmart and TRU/BRU. Before May 9 you didn't even need receipts. My mum had recently bought a back of Avent bottles from Value Village and ended up with $64 in store credit.

This was a major deal right after Canada officially banned BPA in children's cups/bottles.

[CathyY]

Today I was in line behind a woman at BRU who was returning used bottles. They were giving her store credit, I believe. I'm in the Sacramento area (Folsom store, for any neighbors). What was it that made this news mainstream, anyway? This is actually old news, I'm afraid. EWG has been reporting about it for a long time.

I'd also plug Kleen Kanteen, as I believe they are not made in China, unlike most new SIGG bottles.

[CathyY]

Today I was in line behind a woman at BRU who was returning used bottles. They were giving her store credit, I believe. I'm in the Sacramento area (Folsom store, for any neighbors). What was it that made this news mainstream, anyway? This is actually old news, I'm afraid. EWG has been reporting about it for a long time.

I'd also plug Kleen Kanteen, as I believe they are not made in China, unlike most new SIGG bottles.

[CathyY]

Ignore me, I believe China has a hand in making both brands. *sigh*

[Kandice]

Is it me or is there something wrong with the link to amazon.com at the top of your page, Moxie? No link appears when I put my cursor on it.

[Mommy-O]

Yes, I got $8/bottle store credit at Zellers without a receipt before May 9th and I kept the lids and nipples so I could use them with the Avent VIA system which is BPA free. BUT then my AVENT pump broke and I couldn't find a pump anywhere because most of them came with the bottles and had been taken off the shelves. I bought the Medela Harmony which comes with BPA free bottles - just in case anyone is looking.

I just bought an EWAN stainless steel water bottle and I am very happy with it. I was a bit worried about the aluminum bottles with a history of Alzheimers in my family. If anyone can reassure me about the aluminum bottles please let me know because SIGG has much cuter ones for kids.

[Tara]

I returned all of my bottles to the Harrisburg, PA BRU yesterday. I got $80 in store credit, which I promptly spent on formula, shoes, and some glass bottles. I have a few complaints about the glass, but overall, they're okay. My baby will be one next week, but we haven't started weaning her from the bottle yet. We thought it would be best to just take the plunge and get rid of the plastic.

[Diane]

Is this just bottles? It's a shame, because with a 21-month old, I don't have any bottles anymore, but I have a ton of cups that I'm unsure about the safety of. Does anyone have a link to a good comprehensive list of safe vs. unsafe as far as cups are concerned? I'm having trouble finding anything from less than a year ago.

[Diane]

Nevermind ... answered my own question.

http://amomsblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/bpa-free-bottles-and-sippy-cups/

Before you run out and buy the expensive metal cups, check out this list. Everything I had in my house was already BPA-free without me having known enough before to have made sure.

[Toni]

I just ordered from reusablebags.com - put in the comments that you referred me. Perhaps they will give you some love?? :)

[Diane]

Because I haven't already commented enough here this morning ...

For anyone with an Ameda breast pump, they are transitioning all of the parts to polypropylene within the next few months. So far they have a polypropylene kit that you can buy for about $20 with two flanges and two bottles with caps. They are available through several web sites if you Google "Ameda Purely Yours Polypropylene". Also, the Medela bottles are compatible with the system, and they are widely available in stores.

Hope this helps someone!

[Anna]

@KathyY, I can't speak for the SIGG bottles, but I do know that the owners of Kleen Kanteen (a brother & sister) are really concerned about safety and labor standards in China and visit the factory 3-4 times a year. I work in Chico, where they are based, and have met them--and I asked about this very thing. I love their stainless steel sippy for my 13-month-old, although it does leak a little if left upside down...

[Jenna]

Tara - I have the same concerns and did some searching a few days ago for solutions for toddlers who are past using a bottle but use sippy cups and other toxic plastic items.

I didn't find any charts, but I did find this STAINLESS STEEL SIPPY CUP and bought a few. Will get them in a few weeks and I think it's a great solution compared to plastic. I am tossing my plastic sippys as soon as these arrive - good luck and let us know if you find any charts as well.

Here is the link to the stainless sippy cups:

http://www.brightandbold.com/sasibo.html

[electriclady]

Another plug for Kleen Kanteen--I love my grownup KK, and I just ordered a "sippy" for my kid. (It uses Avent spouts, which are BPA free and coincidentally is the only sippy spout my daughter has ever taken to.) They are coming out with fun colors, too--should be available in the next month or so. And they're dishwasher safe, which I think SIGGs are not (correct me if I'm wrong).

Two other resources for looking up BPA content are Z Recommends (http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2008/02/z-report-on-bpa-in-infant-care-products.html and they also have a text message service if you're in a store wondering what to buy) and Safemama.com.

And...I've said this here before, but just because a product is made in China doesn't mean it's de facto unsafe or unethical. Do your research. In the FAQ on their site, Kleen Kanteen talks about why they make their bottles in China and the safety and monitoring practices they use.

[Melissa]

Just putting in a plug for glass bottles (Evenflo makes ours, but others are available - just make sure you get silicone nipples, and not the weird rubber ones that come with the Evenflo bottles).

Anyway, glass bottles are great! Easy to clean, reuse, resell, dishwasher safe, etc. We have hardwood floors, and many a bottle were dropped and NONE ever broke, cracked, or ever chipped. They are incredibly resilient and very very safe.

[Amy]

My BRU said I had to have the original packaging. WTF? I'm much more likely to have the receipt than I am the "original packaging"!

[Julie]

Geez, who saves the original packaging??? If we all did that, we'd be living in piles of crap, what with all the obscene amounts of packaging and metal twisty-ties that come with just about any kind of baby/kid product. What a convennient way for the BRU in your area to bail on doing something right.

[Cecily T]

What's the deal with nalgene? Sigh...I thought that was safe. I didn't really want to shell out for a Sigg...I was going to get one of those new Camelbak performance bottles, but now I'm not sure what they're made of. ZRecs' new Gardenaut site had a showdown on bottles, and that was a pick over there.

[Diane]

Cecily - I know the current Nalgenes aren't safe, but I read today that they are coming out with new ones that are. I have no idea what the time frame for that is, though.

[edie]

hi - one note about the Sigg bottles. I have several for our family and I love them, though they do get dented if you drop them. True Sigg brand bottles are made in Switzerland, it's the knock-offs that are made in China.

[Sandra]

I saw the new Nalgenes out at REI (outdoor co-op) last weekend. I think they're called Everyday Nalgene, or something like that.

[Sam]

I got a credit note for Avent bottles purchased with a pump and sterilizer last summer. This was a Toys R Us in Toronto. They were used and I had my receipt. If I had been more on the ball in April, I would have gotten back full price for my pump and sterilizer, but they were no longer taking those.

[rebecca]

There's a new line of Nalgene bottles coming out, I've seen them at REI. Also most of Camelbak's stuff is BPA free.

I did a bunch of research on what to trade out the grownup bottles for - ended up with Kleen Kanteen. Which, as has been noted, has a sippy version.

Born Free sippy cups are also good, BPA free, you can buy them online or at Whole Paycheck (Foods).

There's a great review of various (adult) options linked from this article as well as some kid info:
http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/05/bpa-free-bottle.html

We had a LOT of nalgene. I just threw it all away awhile ago. The guy at REI was "well you know dude, whatever" but I feel like it's enough of an issue to change.

[rebecca]

Sorry, I didn't realize electriclady's link was effectively the same as what I posted.

What she said!

[attiton]

FYI, Dr. Brown's doesn't make BPA-free *plastic* bottles. Only glass.

[SusanG]

Yes, Dr. Brown's does make BPA-free plastic bottles. They are sold at BRU/TRU. I believe they just came out this month. We have some we just bought last Friday.

[Mrs. CPA]

I took all 27 of my Avents back to the Little Rock, AR BRU today. They all had writing on the top and labels on them and are over 2 years old. The person behind the counter already had a box of bottles to scan as she pulled them out 3 at a time. I got $134 in store credit to use towards new baby purchases. No problems at all!

[Franziska]

My BRU in Pittsburgh, PA does not take back Avents bottles unless there is a recall. The lady I talked to also insisted that none of the stores anywhere were taking back bottles. Meh.

[Diane]

I don't know if anyone is still checking here, but ...

Called the BRU in Clearwater, FL, and the woman there said, "Yeah, I guess someone blogged about that, because we've been getting a lot of calls this week. I researched it all the way up the corporate ladder, and no stores are doing that that I know of."

I don't know if she talked to clueless people or if it's a regional decision or something. Figured I could save some other FL Moxie-Moms some time. (But gosh, Moxie! What reach you must have if this woman has been getting calls about it all week!)

[Michele]

I live in Raleigh, NC and I took back a ton of Avent and Playtex bottles. I understand they are also taking bottles in the Durham store too.

[Rachel]

franziska and any other florida moms - the bru in brandon fl is taking them back - i just went on sunday and traded in all avent bottles. only thing is that they require all store credit from bottles to be spent on bpa free bottles. they were great though - now have all new born free bottles.

[Lauren]

I just got money from the Toys R Us in Lafayette, IN for used Avent bottles. No reciept or packaging.

[john]

you should be getting new bottles every 4 months.... and not trying to take advantage of Babies R Us trying to take care of customers.... dont come in with your 14 month old child and old bottles that you dont even use anymore just to get a store credit...

[Rory]

I just came back from the Richmond, VA stores and they are trading the bottles, not offering a store credit any longer.

[Erica at Mom's Journal]

If you live close enough and have the time I wouldn't bother calling ahead. It's easy for them to say, "no" when you're not standing in front of them, in front of other customers. Just print out a couple news articles about BPA, tell them your concerns, and be patient and polite. I didn't have to show my news articles, but I was prepared.

[amp]

TRU is no longer giving out credits for returns on used bottles. I was told the policy changed because people were killing them returning old bottles so they could buy toys etc. for older children. They are however switching bottles for new BPA free bottles.

[Kim]

Help please! I have Dr. Brown's glass bottles and plastic bottles. How can I tell if Dr. B's plastic bottles have BPA or not?

[Worry wort]

The chemical is in all hard plastic and has been for years. It is only a problem when you heat it up such as in a microwave and personally I would never put my baby's bottle in a microwave. If it was that big a deal they would have been recalled totally, companies are not going to sell something that they could get suied about. Do your research, why should a store take back something they still sell? I still use the Playtex, we all had them when we were babies and we are all fine. If you go with everything you hear we would never leave our homes or eat or drink or breath for that matter.There is more problems with the air we breath everyday and water we drink than the containers we put it in. Life is short, we need to stop being such an uptight society and live and enjoy everyday we are here with our children and try not to worry about everything under the sun. We could find something wrong with everything, if you don't tie your shoe you could fall and get hurt but we have not recalled shoes or shoe laces. Use common sense and live each day to the fullest and not worry about silly things.

[Jimi]

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