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If you’re looking for the best eco friendly baby bottles, this post has you covered (for non toxic toys see my guide here).
Although I chose to breastfeed my daughter, there were still ocassions when it wasn’t practical and I really didn’t like the idea of warming up formula in a plastic baby bottle or sippy cup. So I used an Avent glass baby bottle and it worked great for me and my baby.
Researching eco friendly baby bottles though took me absolutely ages, so to save you time, I’ve hand selected 6 of the best non toxic, eco friendly baby bottles I could find. At the time of writing, all the bottles were BPA free and products be happy to use myself.
Why use an eco friendly baby bottle?
I aimed to avoid plastic as much as possible when my daughter was a baby (and still do) because of the health concerns around BPA, a suspected endocrine disruptor. (I also recommend these non toxic baby toys & pacifiers).
BPA has recently been classified as a substance of ‘very high concern’ under EU Regulations. It’s also been banned in EU babies’ bottles, since 2010, and in US baby bottles since 2012.
This has, unsurprisingly, led to a host of ‘BPA free’ products on the market, many of which promote themselves as eco friendly and ‘non toxic.’
The full story, however, is a little murkier! Why?
Recent research actually suggests the BPA free plastic alternatives ‘may’ not be any safer, due to a chemical called fluorene-9-bisphenol. Manufacturers often use fluorene-9-bisphenol as a substitute for BPA in plastic products. However, research suggests the chemical could potentially affect fertility and the reproductive system.
Another problem with plastic is it contains phthalates, another suspected endocrine disruptor. Researchers have linked phthalates to asthma, ADHD, breast cancer and obesity.
So, for me, plastic was a no go for baby bottles. And as a result, the eco friendly baby bottle suggestions below are all glass or stainless steel.
Benefits of glass & stainless steel baby bottles
Glass or stainless steel baby bottles have a number of benefits over plastic bottles. 4 key ones are; they:
- are BPA free
- don’t leach chemicals when heated (which plastic can)
- make drinks taste better, as liquids don’t take on any ‘plasticy’ taste
- are non porous, so don’t absorb food and germs in the way plastic can.
6 of the best eco friendly baby bottles
1 – Philips Avent glass baby bottles
The Philips Avent glass baby bottle is the bottle I used with my daughter. I found it easy to grip, easy to clean and my daughter had no problems using it. Made of premium quality, pharmacy-grade borosilicate glass, with a silicone nipple, the mouth is also wider than some other bottles, making it easy to clean and fill.
The Avent glass baby bottle is a best seller on Amazon and reviews suggest parents love it.
2 – Pura baby bottles
The thing I love about the Pura baby bottle is the fact it’s 100% plastic free.
The bottle and lid are both stainless steel and the nipple, silicone. Considering that glass baby bottles still tend to have plastic lids, this is pretty unique product. In fact, Pura claim it’s the only 100% plastic free baby bottle in the world. The Pura baby bottle may also be a good choice if you feel glass may be a little on the heavy side.
3 – Lifefactory Glass Baby Bottles
The Lifefactory baby bottle is a popular choice with parents and Amazon’s recommended choice for a glass baby bottle. I really like these bottles – they’re made of high quality, thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass and the handy silicone sleeve also adds an extra layer of protection against any unexpected knocks. The nipple is made of silicone.
4 – DIY Mason Jar Baby Bottle
These are a genius idea if you have any Mason jars in the house. The Mason Jar Baby Bottle DIY Kit includes one set of two breast-like silicone nipples and one silicone sleeve to fit an 8 oz. regular-mouth mason jar, plus one plastic cap. Note that the kit DOES NOT include a Mason jar. Everything is easy to clean and the kit is a great way to re-use Mason jars you may already have.
5 – Evenflo glass baby bottles
The Evenflo glass baby bottle makes a good budget option, especially if you want multiple bottles. The tempered glass bottle includes a classic slow flow soft silicone nipple and the bottles are easy to clean.
6 – Klean Kid Kanteen baby bottles
I really like Klean Kanteen. They’re a family run business that have been making stainless steel bottles for healthier drinking, for over 10 years. The Klean Kanteen baby bottle has a contoured hourglass design for little hands and features a silicone nipple. The lid, however, is still plastic, so if you want to go ‘all out’ plastic free, the Pura may be a better choice.
The Best Eco Friendly Baby Bottles – A Final Word
Just because a baby bottle is marketed as BPA free, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s toxin free. Many plastic baby bottles still contain chemicals, which research suggests may be linked to health issues.
So choosing to use a glass, or stainless steel, eco friendly baby bottle helps give your baby the best start in life and gives you the peace of mind that their milk is as pure and healthy as possible outside the breast.
My personal favourite choices are the Avent glass baby bottle or the Pura stainless steel bottle.
Happy feeding!
Hi
I agree with you, everyone should be feeding their babies out of the best eco friendly baby bottles they can find. I’m glad someone is taking the time to educate the public on the harmful effects of feeding their baby out of plastic bottles.
In fact adults are getting the same possible side affects of drinking from plastic bottles. Even though I no longer have a baby drinking out of baby bottles, I am afraid BPAs are affecting the health of all of us. In fact I think we are getting the same bad results as babies whenever we drink out of water and soda pop bottles that have heated in natural conditions. Thanks
Thanks Mike. I agree with you, – a study was released in the UK recently, which discovered actual plastic particles in many leading brands of bottled water!
Can you recommend toddler bottles? I have used lifeFactory sippy cap. What about tumblers?
Hi Alexandra – this post should help
(I used the Klean Kanteen when my daughter was a toddler).
If you just want a standard tumbler though (that is non plastic), I mention a stainless steel tumbler option in the post above too. Good luck.
Have you found any silicone free options to be good? There seems to be murky results around silicone too (technically a plastic) so I’m not happy making the effort to avoid plastic then keeping the bit that gets most chewed as a plastic.
Hi Emery, I’m so sorry for the extremely late reply!, I seem to have missed your comment amongst rather a lot of spam lately.
My personal understanding is that silicone is generally considered ‘safe’. But there are some studies that question how stable silicone is when exposed to extreme heat, but this is extreme in the sense of being way over anything you’d reach in an oven for example. I personally uses silicone muffin moulds and just always make sure I choose 100% food grade silicone (not all silicone products are made equal as some cheaper products may contain fillers). So I’m afraid I haven’t personally found any silicone free options, as I made the decision that silicone is ‘probably’ ok for use in our home. It’s almost impossible to be 100% ‘sure’ with anything though, of course, so I understand your reservations. Sorry I couldn’t be more help, I’ll look to research more on this topic and update the post with any findings.
Hi there! I found your article very helpful so thank you for the time and research you put into pulling this together! Before I stumbled on your piece, I was doing some research on the Philips Avent baby bottles. I used the plastic ones for my first born because i was totally clueless about the harmful affects of plastics (someone should really be educating parents about this!!) I decided to throw out the plastic bottles in favor of glass, but keep the nipples I had previously used. I googled to find out what the Philips Avent nipples were made from and actually found they are part silicone, part PBT, which is another type of plastic made from petroleum and contains Phthalates. According to Dr. Leonard Sax we should avoid any plastics made from petroleum derivatives. I wanted to share as the Philips Avent bottles you recommended may not actually be the safest alternative. My search for 100% silicone nipples continues!
Thank you Maggie for sharing this info. I shall also do some further research on this topic!
I was wondering how the glass bottles have been/have worked for your kid(s), I’m concerned about it breaking if a kid throws it.
Hi Bela, personally the glass Avent bottle worked really well for me and my daughter, as she was never one to walk around when drinking milk and we always sat where there was a carpet or soft landing for any potential droppages (she used to find it great fun to drop things from her high chair but luckily never threw her bottles). If you’re worried about breakages, a stainless steel bottle might be an alternative option? Whilst glass bottles are made of toughened glass, there’s of course no ‘guarantee’ it won’t break if it sustains a serious knock, or sudden hurl onto a hard surface.