I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ron Vigdor, President of BornFree, LLC, who are the makers and distributors of the BornFree baby bottles and drinking cups popping up in stores such as Babies R Us, CVS and Whole Foods. BornFree’s products are all Bisphenol-A, phthalates and PVC free, right down to the higest quality medical grade silicone bottle nipples. They have taken great care in providing consumers with a safe alternative that is of the highest possible quality.
How did BornFree get started? Mr. Vigdor stated, “Several years ago, I was running an e-commerce business with my partners – my brother, Dan and our friend Gil Lemel – when we were approached with the idea of bringing BPA-Free baby bottles to a mass market. Being fathers ourselves (currently of eight children total and one on the way!) we became extremely concerned about the safety of our children, and all children, when we learned about the potentially dangerous effects of BPA-infused plastics. We realized that we could give society something worthwhile – a safe solution to feeding our children – while creating a business model. The bridge from e-commerce to baby bottles was intuitive because of our interest in how technology interacts with our daily lives and mass market.
Over the course of two years, we have expanded our business from one that started in my home, to one with distribution in Whole Foods, Babies R US, and other brick and mortar stores across the country as well as many online resellers – a growth driven by the increasing demand by parents for safe feeding options for their children. We’re now looking to grow from the BornFree™ Feeding System of baby bottles, sterilizers and training cups to a larger product line that promotes a BornFree™ lifestyle.”
Having read varying information about the plastic BornFree uses to make their bottles and drinking cups, I asked him about Polyamide, the material once used in their product line. “We’re using polymers such as PES (Polyethersulfone) which has a stronger resistance to heat so it will withstand microwaving and sterilization without any issues.”
I’ve gotten numerous emails from parents saying “This is all just a ploy to get people to spend more money.” I know my stance on that claim but I wondered what Mr. Vigdor would say to a skeptic parent. So I asked… Mr. Vigdor says, “I understand the concerns parents have about expenses. I have two kids myself and know how bottles, clothes, diapers, food all add up. The truth is that our BPA-Free bottles are just more expensive to produce. We hope this always isn’t the case, but for now, like most new technology, it is. I know it is sometimes overwhelming to know what the right thing to do for your child is. It has been shown that people most affected by BPA exposure are unborn infants and children under the age of three. So, if at all possible, why take that chance? Here is a range of products that are a safe alternative, made of the highest quality materials and we’re putting it out there as an option. It’s up to the parent to make the decision.”
As for plans to expand their product lines to other baby items he says, “We can clearly see through the past scares, that parents worry about unsafe toxins in much more than just bottles. In six months we plan to add products to all areas of baby care; from dishware and pacifiers to breast pumps and eating utensils. Eventually, we will have products like toys and clothes. BornFree™ is all about safety for our kids and for the environment. We shouldn’t limit that to just bottles.”
BornFree products are available at Babies R Us, CVS, Whole Foods and hopefully in other online retailers very soon. I’ve said this 100 times but it’s nice to see companies like BornFree sharing shelf space with the products I now look at with a jaded eye. I hope one day we can walk the aisles of baby items and not worry about what is lurking behind the plastic, but until then, we have some solice in products like BornFree who’s first priority is the safety of our children.
This is really interesting, great interview. When I was pregnant with my son I had read an article about BPA in plastic but there wasn’t the big media attention yet and we weren’t sure what other options we had.We just loved our Avents though, so we were thinking of trying the Tempo next time around or just some glass bottles. My only issue is that using all those liners seems so wasteful and I would be transferring breastmilk into yet another container before feeding. The other thing is what to do with all of our old bottles, we have like a thousand of them. I would feel guilty giving them to someone else but throwing them away seems like a crime. What to do?
Woohoo! I can’t wait to see what BornFree has in store for us in the way of dishware, pacifiers, breast pumps and eating utensils!
BornFree is such a great company and they absolutely led the way in creating safer feeding options.
Thanks for the great interview, Kathy.
Very cool interview! I’m totally with him when it comes to not taking any chances with my children’s health. Even if it were just a 1% chance, that’s still too high for me.
And btw, we love the BornFree sippy cup. I use it at home with my toddler. It’s great and has never leaked!
Noel. I was an “exclusive pumper” for my daughter and I used the mothers milkmate bottles to pump into. You can purchase nipples for those bottles and then it is just one container. I had to have a very elaborate system because I worked full time and didnt want to give my daughter formula. The milkmate bottles are great also because you can drop them in warm water and then if you need to feed more that 5 oz can then dump in a bottle. I used the Born free bottles for my daughter and loved them. I initially tried them because they help with colic, and my daughter was getting way to much air with the Avents.