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Read part two of this report here…
By now you have probably heard about the big BPA or bisophenol debate. BPA is a nasty chemical most often found in polycarbonate plastics. These plastics are used many times to make products that are in a great many homes. I have posted about this issue a few times in the past but it is worth mentioning again.
So what is BPA and why should you be concerned? Bisphenol A is an estrogen-like chemical used to make plastic. You can find it in MANY products… water bottles, dental sealants, in the linings of most tin cans and in some of the most shocking places of all…in baby toys, baby bottles, and sippy cups. Companies have long known about this chemical’s ability to act like a hormone and they have always hidden behind the fact their specific product contains levels considered safe. Well, there is a fundamental flaw in this thinking…or rather a small detail they would like consumers to over look. We don’t just use “one” product. We may use many of the different products that contain BPA…tuna cans, baby bottles, sippy cups…and the cumulative exposure to this chemical is anything but safe. Just read an excerpt from a recent study below:
Bisphenol A manufacturers have said the trace amount leaching into food and beverages isn’t dangerous to people because it’s quickly metabolized into a form that loses its ability to act like a female sex hormone.
While the authors of the new assessment agreed that people break down some of the bisphenol A they absorb, they said since so many plastics and other products containing it are in use that “virtually everybody” in developed countries has chronic, low-level exposure to the chemical and measurable amounts of its biologically active version.
Typical readings are about two parts per billion in blood. Although this is an extremely small amount, hormones are active at this level, and at even lower concentrations.
Based on the amounts being found in people and what is known about the metabolism of bisphenol A from animal experiments, it also appears that human exposures are above the current U.S. safety limit, according to the assessment.
Another study done by the Environment California Research and Policy Center tested 5 popular baby bottles: Avent, Dr. Brown’s Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex. ALL were shown to have unsafe levels of Bisphenol A. Sadly this is how many are starting out life for their precious babies…giving them toxic chemicals inadvertently. And to make matters even worse…if you use formula you are giving your baby a double whammy because the lining of those formula cans may very well be leaching BPA into the actual formula as well.
Many other studies have concluded the same thing BPA is unsafe. It can speed up puberty and add to weight gain, and may cause changes that can lead to breast and prostate cancer. Other studies have shown that is may cause brain damage, abnormal organ development, and hyperactivity. We must take steps to eliminate it from our lives to the extent we can. This is one BIG reason you need to store your food in glass containers and not plastic. It is also the reason you need to find safer alternatives for baby bottles and sippy cups.
I wrote an article about BPA free baby bottles if you recall. Glass baby bottles seem to be a new favorite among natural moms. Born Free is also quite popular. I did update that post recently to show a few other bottle choices for parents who wish to avoid BPA. I especially dig the new Nuby BPA free bottles.
As the parent of an older baby I am a bit more concerned with safe sippy cups myself. A glass sippy cup would be the best alternative but who is going to give a toddler or a mobile baby a glass cup? Not me!
So I decided to try several different BPA free sippy cups and see which ones made the grade. I reviewed the Klean Kanteen, Sigg, Born Free, Foogo, and Avent Naturally sippy cups/bottles. You will hear what I think and what my kids think. So let the battle begin….may the best sippy cup win. 
Sigg Baby Water Bottle (Price $14.95-16.95) - This great product is made by a Swiss company. This sippy bottle is made from aluminum and has a completely inert, water-based epoxy lining that does not leach harmful chemicals. Instead of an actual sippy spout it has one more like a sports bottle. It has a lid that clamps down over top of it to help avoid spills. They come in a variety of child pleasing styles so this bottle is anything but boring. My kids love the different choices available and overall they like this bottle. Although I have not had a problem with leaking I have some friends that have had issues. It is also pretty commonly known that these bottles will dent and chip if dropped a lot. My kids gave this cup an A+. I would give it an A-.
Avent Naturally Sippy Cup (Price $6.95)- Yes, it is made of plastic but not a variety which contains harmful chemicals like BPA. Although because it is made of plastic I knew this sippy cup would not be a favorite of mine. Plastic is always going to be slightly suspect to me…I can’t help it. We picked up this particular cup at Whole Foods. The cup is rather plain and ugly and we did have a few leak issues so I can’t even say that it did the job all that well. The lid also got lost pretty fast. My children would pass this one up in favor of one of their “cool” cups. They gave it an D. I gave it a C… it is BPA free and low in price.
Klean Kanteen Sippy Bottle (Price $16.95)- This sippy bottle is made of stainless steel which will 
not leach harmful chemicals. I use this bottle myself (the adult version of course) and I REALLY like it. For the kids bottle you have two choices. You can get a sports bottle spout (with a detachable lid) or an actual sippy spout AND you can get a sippy adapter to make the transition yourself which is a nice feature. The sippy spouts are made by Avent and are BPA free. You can also easily get replacement sippy spouts. The bottles are nice and shiny but they do get kind of dingy looking once they have been smeared by tiny fingerprints. Maybe it is an OCD tendency but I am often grabbing them and cleaning them to make them look shiny again, LOL. My kids really like this bottle and they especially like that it is a mini version of my water bottle. They give Klean Kanteen an A. I did too. ALso check out the BPA Free Klean Kanteen Kolors – This super stylish cup is now in color!
Born Free Sippy Cup (Price $10.99) – This BPA free sippy is made the same company that is widely known for making BPA free baby bottles. Their sippy cups are made with safe plastics and they come in
green, blue, peach and yellow (that I have seen anyway). They are fairly attractive for a plastic cup with their translucent and delicate colors. They have a detachable lid (this one got lost too) and handles on either side. They have a low vacuum valve designed to create free flow of liquid but unless your child is just learning to use a sippy cup the flow may be to slow, so the drinking cup model for older kids might be a better fit. We had no leaks with this cup but there was a big drawback for me. This cup breaks up into six different pieces…the cup, the handles, the vacuum valve, the top part that houses the valve, the spout, and the lid. I guess this is good for an extra good cleaning but sheesh…there are just too many pieces to keep track of. My kids gave it a B. I gave it a C.
Thermos Foogo Sippy Cup (Price $14.99-17.99) – This cup is also stainless steel like the KK and it has a soft plastic spout. You can also get it with or without side handles. There is even a taller cup with a straw available. The colors are quite attractive with blue/yellow and pink/purple combos. I have one friend that claimed to have a few small leak issues but so far we have not. One BIG advantage that this cup has over the KK bottle is that it is also a thermos. Warm drinks stay warm and cold drinks stay cold. It is good, sturdy cup. I love that it is made of stainless steel, I love that it is also a thermos, and I REALLY love the ultra stylish design. It is one gorgeous sippy cup (did I really just say that). My kids gave this cup an A and I gave it an A+.
Just a quick side note: I hand clean all my sippy cups and water bottles but of the ones I have reviewed here the only ones you can put in the dishwasher are the Born Free, the Avent Naturally, and the Foogo (although it is not recommended for this one). So if using the dishwasher is a sticking point for you keep that in mind.
So…what is the verdict? Who wins the safe sippy cup celebrity death match….muhawaaa! The Foogo by Thermos wins the first round in our household but the Klean Kanteen is very close behind. My kids really liked the kid friendly design of the Sigg bottles but mom likes durability more. Born Free is a good option in plastic but a little to high maintenance for me. Avent Naturally came in last but it is the most affordable option so parents with more limited budgets can feel safe with it.
So which safe sippy cup or bottle wins in YOUR house? Also if you know of any other great alternatives for sippy cups or bottles (even baby bottles) please share below!
Make sure to check out our reviews on BPA Free Plates, Bowls, and Utensils!
[tags]safe sippy cups, bpa free, Safe water bottle, bisophenol A, toxic, cancer, hormone, baby, toddler, children[/tags]
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Tina I will be reviewing the Safe Sippy by Kid Basix in January! I am also reviewing another called Fluid, very soon.
are there any bpa free regular drinking cups? my 4 yr old isn’t using sippy cups anymore… THANK YOU tiffany! this is an incredible post!
just checking the notify me of follow up comments option… sorry…disreguard this…
Hi Danielle,
I would suggest the Foogo version for older kids. It is larger and has a straw. Also from Thermos you can get a Funtainer (try Amazon) they are stainless steel thermos jugs with straws. My son has one with chracters from Cars the movie.
Also the Klean Kanteen mentioned above has a non-sippy spout…you can get the sport bottle attachment instead. And the Sigg bottles all come with a sport bottle style sipper and you can get ones without cute characters.
Hope that helps!
i have been researching BPA free sippy cups and discovered the foogo thermos cup. they look great but although they are stainless steel (a plus) i am wondering about the spout and if it is safe. it is made from Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) but i cannot find out whether TPEs safe or not. has anyone else come across this information?
[...] press at the moment particularly in relation to babies bottles and tinned formula. Tiffany over at Nature Moms last year wrote about some recent research and suggests some alternatives for baby [...]
[...] few months ago I wrote a lengthy review of BPA free sippy cups. I reviewed, compared, and rated 5 major sippy cups that are BPA free…Klean Kanteen, the [...]
There is a new part 2 to this review located here:
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2008/01/21/bpa-free-sippy-cups-part-two/
And we are giving away a free sippy cup!
[...] Read part one here [...]
Thanks for the review! I would be interested to hear your comments about Kleen Kanteen bottles verses Sigg in regards to using them with juice and milk.
mapsgirl’s last blog post..so many choices!
To the commenter from Canada who didn’t know where to find BPA free products, try Safety Superstore (toronto
area). They are getting the Safe Sippy in soon, I’ve got a couple on preorder.
http://www.safetysuperstore.com/
Yes this issue has only come to my attention recently and I can’t believe more moms out there don’t know about bpa problems in baby bottles. Thank you for writing about this.
Green Eilleen
[...] BPA Free Sippy Cups Part One | BPA Free Sippy Cups Part Two [...]
[...] http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2007/09/04/bpa-free-safe-sippy-cups/ [...]
Are you reallly sure the “Avent Naturally” cups are safe? They certainly don’t claim that they are — it looks to me that the “Naturally” moniker simply refers to the shape of the nipples used in the bottles in this line, not necessarily to use of safe materials. And in fact, the Canadian study on BPA in bottles used the Avent Naturally ones and found BPA leaching, so that name alone doesn’t mean anything.
Further online searching leads me only to a) AVENT’s FAQ where they indicate that they think BPA is perfectly safe, b) the bottle study again, or c) reprints from your blog post.
I’d love for you to be correct as this would be a nice cheap option, but I can’t find any evidence that it’s so. If you could provide a further reference, I’d appreciate it very much.
i’m interested in your response to matthew’s post as well. i purchased the Avent Naturally sippy cup after reading your blog, as it is a cheap alternative that i am relatively happy with (spillage is for me one of the biggest issues for me among all of these BPA-free brands). if this cup isn’t actually safe, i’d like to know! by the sounds of it, the odds are not in Avent’s favour!
Hi Matthew,
When in doubt I contacted the manufacturing companies. BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and the Avent Naturally is made of Polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomer, and silicone. As with some other sippy cups lines like Nuby….these companies mostly have BPA cups with one or two exceptions. Whole Foods also only carries BPA free cups (according to them) and they carry Born Free and Avent Naturally.
[...] I released my reports on BPA free sippy cups I had a large number of moms ask about regular cups (non sippy) as well as plates, bowls, and [...]
Regarding comments 65 & 67:: I’m not 100% sure and am looking into this a little further myself, but believe that the ‘Naturally’ line is part of their branding. The reasons that I say this is that I use the Avent Naturally Starter kit – the bottles (that can be transformed to sippies by buying the right attachments), not specifically sippy cups. I’m unsure of what they’re made of, but upon looking on their website, the ‘Naturally’ appears not only on all bottles and cups, but on their sterilizers, tubes of cream, sippy cups (softer plastic) as well as baby bottles (which I own) that are consistent in material with that of BPA (clear, hard, indestructible plastic). While I could be mistaken, I’ll most likely get rid of my bottles (that were converted to sippies). Tiffany, much appreciation for all the effort and time that’s gone into this research and trial!
thank you for this great review. over the past number of months i have felt SO TORN over the whole plastic vs metal debate. i recently got myself a stainless steel drinking bottle, then realized that the water i pour into it has been sitting in my plastic water filter for how many hours? so what is the point? i fear that this could be a very expensive and possibly endless battle.
Anj, Brita containers are apparently safe: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/brita
Not sure about other brands.
Please don’t take this the wrong way. I am glad they found a way to save our children’s lives by finding all these chemicals and being able to do something about it. The only thing I don’t approve of is how they go about it. They test these products on animals. It’s almost like you have to take a life to save a life. I am not a parent but I love children and I love animals. I just wish there was a way to save one life without hurting the other.
[...] BPA Free Sippy Cups | BPA Sippy Sups Part Two | Glass Baby Bottles | BPA Free Baby Bottles | BPA Free Teethers & Pacifiers | BPA Free Sups, Plates, Bowls, and Utensils [...]
Maybe I’m the only one with this problem, but the Foogo cups leak BIG TIME in our house. I ended up throwing 2 away in disgust and still have the 3rd, but I’m about to throw that one away. And you may want to point out to everyone that it has several pieces – the valve itself is made up of two pieces and if you don’t clean them, they get nasty. I personally give the Foogo a D.
The Born Free cup has worked extremely well with my 10-month old. But I do agree that the many pieces are not fun. I also woudn’t use this cup with an older child. I consider it to be a fantastic bottle-to–cup transition cup.
I am now putting my 10-month old on Nuby BPA-free cups. They work wonderfully, are easy to find even at WalMart, and not expensive.
Foogo sippy cup leaked all the time, I am returning them that’s how much I didn’t like them and they don’t hold a lot. I love the Klean Kanteen for my 2 year old and my 4 month old is drinking from Green to Grow bottles with Nuby non drip niples that are vented.
Thank you so much for this!
Another great product is the Laken bottle and Laken bottle Jr…they are made in spain of 100% recycled aluminum. My fave place to purchase them is http://www.morethanclothdiapers.com/laken.html
Thanks so much for this!
Lindss last blog post..Microwave vs. Toaster Oven
Hi. I advise all to be aware of the Clean Kanteen spout made by Advent. My understanding is that it is 50% avoprene which is highly unstable. Please research this yourselft before purchasing.
Hey, I just wanted to put in that we searched high and low for a sippy that was BPA free, totally operatable by an 18 month old, would never leak and did not need to be opened and closed for use. Avent (including Kleen Kanteen which uses their tops) – leaky, Thermos – moldy under the not removable rubber rim, Born Free – to baby bottle-ish, Sigg – to hard to open and leaks if left open. Also, frankly, I am putting in a lot of effort here and I want to look like as cool of a mom as I am, so I don’t want a new version of a grocery brand thing, thanks! Then we discovered that Nalgene has recently started offering a BPA free kid sippy that doesn’t look rediculous, is affordable ($8 at REI), and NEVER leaks, even if left in bed or flung angrily from a stroller. Love it! It is plastic so I’m sure that it’s full of some other horrible chemical but it’s the best I can do right now. Also for bigger kids who drink/can carry more, the Camel Back brand is offering some nice 24oz, non-leaking, optional-straw water jugs that can come with an admitedly ugly insulating sleve (cold milk anyone?) in super cool colors. Our two year old loves his, especially that he can clip it to his trike with a small carabiner. For regular cups we use the Coleman enameled tin camping mugs (and plates and bowls) to solve the plastic vs. breakability issue in our house. They do chip and get a little rusty on the bottom if you repeatedly drop them on the sidewalk but most kids have a natural rust aversion and don’t put that part in their mouth. Love this blog, what a find! So happy to fing other families who care about this!
Just wanted to echo #80 – we have had the new nalgene “everyday” bottles for a few months now for our two year old and they work great – he has one for bed and one for the car. they never leak and they are durable, and since we’ve lost at least two siggs, the price is right too. it’s also great that they are dishwasher safe, since our remaining sigg was always looking a bit crusty. we finally got around to getting adult-sized bpa-free nalgenes this weekend to replace our old bottles that were several years old. as for everyday glasses, our toddler uses 1/2 pint jelly jars – they fit his hands just right and while I suppose they could still break, it hasn’t been an issue for us, even when it’s fallen on our concrete floor. now we just have to decide what type of bottle to use for our newborn once we introduce the bottle in a few weeks…
For all of the Avent users out there who have the leak issues, I thought I might mention to not screw the top on super tight. Turn the top until it catches and that will most often relieve you of those horrid leaks. That info was included in the user’s guide when they were made in England. I used these for two babies, 1999, 2005.
Both of my boys prefer the KK, but the youngest sometimes wants his blue Sigg with a straw! Go figure.
Hey 81, we just discovered the new MAM brand BPA free bottles. We considered glass bottles but they were really heavy and I need to be able to toss them into a bag and not worry about breakage. Anyway, the MAM ones have a sort of funky nipple but after a few days our baby got over her annoyance with them and now she’s fine. BUT… if you have any extra hanging around that didn’t work out as sippy cups the AVENT silicone nipples fit into the sippy adapter hole in the Kleen Kanteen bottle. Which is kind of cool. We were able to pick up the MAM ones at the local grocery here in Ohio and at $14 for 3 diswasher safe 9oz bottles I would reccomend them.
Has anyone ever used The Safe Sippy? I am curious, my daughter is 4 and only uses them at night or on the road so I would love a review before I buy. http://www.thesafesippy.com/
I have two boys, two and a half and the other just turned four. It is really interesting reading everyones comments about products, so I thought I would add mine as well. I have the safe sippy, sigg and the thermos stainless steel one with the straws. Personally, I like the Sigg the best, the quality just seems higher. I do not like the plastic straw pieces with the thermos one. Also, the Thermos one with the spout seemed to soft for older kids. I have used others in the past, and their teeth would just rip off chunks of the rubber spout, yuck! The safe sippy is great too, it is just a bit too “baby” looking for my four year old I find. We tend to use the safe sippy at home and the Siggs for travel. I like the new colored Kleen Kanteens and wanted to try them next, but after hearing a few nasty comments about rusting and made in China, I may re think about buying them. Any one out there know much about melamine products? And how about the new Laptop Lunches? They are labeled as using safe plastics? It is so hard to know what is good and bad any more, Rhonda
We have the Thermos straw ones and not only did my husband manage to break one of the straw assemblies within 3 weeks, but in that amount of time the inside bottoms of both of them are getting rust spots. I’m not sure what to do about it, since they’re pricey. Up until the spots appeared I was totally thrilled with the Thermos straw ones. They really did keep the liquids cold (not recommended for hot liquids), they washed easily, and the kids loved them. No leaking. I will contact the company today to find out about the rust and to order extra straw assemblies.
Hi Tiffany,
I didn’t see any feedback on the comment that the Thermos company moved to China some years ago. Is stainless steel from China safe to use? We need a feel for a safe product and not knowing what could be in stainless steel sure is a concern.
Thanks,
Brenda
Thank you for posting this info. I am looking for greener ways for me and my son. He will be using sippy cups soon and will decide which cup to purchase for him based on this info. Thanks again
I use the Safe Sippy with my daughter and I love it. It’s easy to clean (dishwasher safe!) and even though it’s stainless steel it comes with a colorful, stylish wrap that keeps it from getting dinged. The spout seems to be easier for her to use, too, since she’s only 8 months old and it’s shaped more like a nipple and I’m still breastfeeding. The water seems to come out too fast, but again, she’s only 8 months old, it’s probably perfect for a toddler.
Hello, paid industry shill “Susan”. I’ll save everyone else the trouble: the John Hopkins doctors quoted in the Snopes article say that there’s no *dioxin* released by freezing plastic water bottles. The part about BPA simply says that there is still considerable debate about the topic — which is true, and especially a year ago when that article was written. I’d put more trust in more recent articles like this one:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602126.html?sid=ST2008042602242
im the owner of chulamama, and the safe sippy has by far done the best ; they redesigned the top so no leaks : and peeps always come back for more, which is always a great sign !!! the style is great and the handles are great for toddlers transitioning : but ive also seen 6 and 7 year olds ask there mom for it !!
use coupon code : nayuremoms and get 10% off at http://www.chulamama.com
Hi Tiffany – I’m so glad this post is flagged on your site so many can read about the dangers of BPA, but I still worry about the uninformed mom who isn’t online, or aware of how nasty BPA is. I just read this morning that Canada will be the 1st country in the world to limit the use of BPA and add it to its official list of toxic substances. That means no baby products will be contaminated with BPA and appropriate warnings will be applied when BPA is in other consumer products. The USA ought to do the same. Here’s the link to the article: http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/519762
I bought the Born Free sippy cups for my children and they chewed the “nipples” and they now leak constantly. I have purchased additional “nipples” but it is a never ending battle. We have the Klean Kanteens for our use and I will now look into purchasing their sippy cups. Thanks for the review!
For those of you interested in glass sippy cups, Born Free makes glass bottles the same shape/size as their sippy cups so the sippy “nipples” fit in the rings. I just bought the 5oz glass bottles and purchased the handles and nipples (hard and soft) seperately from their website. They are a bit pricey, but I know that my baby isn’t being poisoned by plastics. http://www.newbornfree.com
[...] have dedicated a fair amount of time to exploring safe sippy cups and sports-type bottles for kids on this blog but haven’t really explored the options for mom and dad. Of course it is [...]
Can anyone tell me if the brand name “Contigo” is a good brand? I Just bought a pack of 4 sippy cups from BJ’s club for $16.00 and they said that they are BPA free.
Just a FYI sigg will snap if it’s frozen. My son left his in the car overnight it was -8 dgrees c outside and froze the water and cracked and they will not replace it due to freezing. Just good to know if you are putting out $25 a bottle.
[...] I fed baby the mushy and very plain ‘guacamole’, (no salt needed in baby food), on my finger as this felt more natural than giving it to her on a spoon. Yes we will introduce spoons soon but for now with the food being so new, I feel it best that she still eat from a part of my body! I also want to ensure we find some spoons without the hormone disrupting chemical BPA which is found in so many plastic goods. [...]
[...] BPA Free Sippy Cups - Foogo, Klean Kanteen, Sigg, Avent Naturally, and Born Free [...]
[...] designed, very attractive, and safer for children. The plastics used have no PVC, phthalates, or BPA. It is a table setting that stays in place, which is a great idea for toddlers. It has a divided [...]