Have you ever noticed how many types of bottles there are on the market? From baby bottles and trainer cups to sippy cups and straw cups… and that only covers the first couple of years of life. As an adult, you might buy disposable water bottles every day (the average American drinks 18 per month). And even if you do buy reusable ones, there’s a good chance you buy several per year because they break and leak in no time.

That’s a heck of a lot of plastic bottles that end up in landfills every year – 38 billion bottles to be exact. And that number only includes disposable water bottles, not the too-many-types, never-last-long reusable ones.

Plastic is bad for you, too

As if these environmental considerations weren’t bad enough, plastic bottles are also bad for our health – even the BPA-free ones.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound commonly found in plastics. After numerous studies found that BPA could have harmful effects on the developing brains and reproductive systems of fetuses and young children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned its use in baby bottles and sippy cups in 2012. Although the FDA stated that its decision simply reflected what the manufacturers had already chosen to do to alleviate consumer concerns, it’s clear that Americans don’t want their children exposed to it.

Alarmingly, recent studies have shown that its substitute, bisphenol S (BPS), could be just as damaging. Although BPS was always known to have similar effects to those of BPA, it was thought to be more resistant to leaching than BPA and therefore less damaging. But more than 80 percent of Americans have been found to have potentially harmful levels of BPS in their urine, so it seems we’re no better off than we were with BPA.

Soft plastics also contain phthalates – chemical compounds that are known endocrine disruptors just like BPA and BPS. Endocrine disruptors mimic our naturally-occurring hormones and can cause a range of developmental issues, reproductive abnormalities and illnesses including cancer.

Say goodbye to plastic for good with Pura Stainless

Faced with mounting evidence about the ill effects of plastic on our health and our planet, an American husband-and-wife team decided to create a truly innovative bottle system that would eliminate plastic. No more hidden plastic spouts, lids or collars like their competitors – Pura bottles were to be made entirely from stainless steel and silicone.

Not only did they get rid of nasty chemicals – making them the only bottle brand in the world to be certified as NONTOXIC by MadeSafe,org – but they almost entirely eradicated waste with their “One Life… One Bottle” mantra. The Pura bottle range features six bottle sizes ranging from 5oz to 28oz and five compatible silicone lids, so one bottle can be used for years by swapping the silicone top. Therein lies Pura’s incredibly innovative “from infants to grandfathers” philosophy.

We can’t possibly eliminate every chemical from our household overnight, but the baby of the family is a good place to start. Pura’s stainless-steel baby bottles ensure that your little one isn’t exposed to harmful chemicals that can leach out of plastic, particularly when it’s subjected to high heat in the dishwasher or microwave. Both the 5oz Bottle With Slow Flow Nipple and the 11oz Bottle With Medium Flow Nipple are 100% plastic-free and come with a medical-grade silicone sleeve and nipple cover.

Once you try these incredible bottles, you’ll never go back!

By Sabrina Rogers-Anderson