KidBean.com Blog

John Swann, Owner and President
Chuck Pruett, CEO
Greenlife Grocery
70 Merriman Ave
Asheville, NC 28801

21-Jan-2010

Mr. Swann and Mr. Pruett:

I have been a regular shopper in your Asheville store for over 4 years. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I often spend more in your store each month to feed my family of 4 human vegans and 5 pets than I do on my mortgage. Your store exemplifies some of the qualities I love most about Asheville: a passionate commitment to buying local, a brazen embrace of the freedom of personal expression, and a fierce devotion to protecting our environment.

With this in mind, I am writing to express my deep disappointment in your decision to use NatureWorks PLA containers in your Prepared Foods department. In my research I have confirmed that these containers are made from raw materials that include genetically-engineered corn. According to the Food Philosophy on your website:

Greenlife Grocery is committed to providing the freshest and healthiest food possible. We offer natural and Organic Food and Health & Body Care products that are free of:

• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)* [my emphasis]
• Irradiation 
• Hydrogenated Oil 
• Bleached Flour 
• Artificial Preservatives, Sweeteners, Flavors, or Colors 
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Animal By-Products of Rendered Animal Fats 
• Antibiotics, Growth Stimulants or Synthetic Drugs 
• Petroleum Based Ingredients or Mineral Oil 
• Testing on and/or Cloning of Animals
  

*Despite every effort, it may not be possible to avoid GMOs due to cross-contamination

While these containers are not "food" nor "health & body care products", they do come in contact with food. Even if they did not come into contact with food, their use is still promoting genetic engineering and all its negative ramifications, as well as the clearly unjust and unsustainable business practices of Cargill, the company who makes these containers.

Cargill supports child slave labor on its cocoa plantations, is a huge proponent of GMO’s, and is a serious player in the destruction of rainforests for palm oil production. For more information, please see the following resources:

• Green America’s Responsible Shopper Profile of Cargill
• Rainforest Action Network action page for Cargill
• International Labor Rights Forum

Numerous companies now manufacture compostable food service containers, and some are even certified by BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute). A few brands are GMO-free (such as GenPak and EatWare), but most (if not all) are made in China. There are serious environmental, labor, and health concerns over products made from palm fiber and from bagasse (health concerns are for the workers in the factories). I am aware of only one company, Earth Shell, manufacturing in the USA, but I have not been able to confirm whether their products contain any GMO’s. Another company, Be Green, has earned Cradle-to-Cradle certification for their line of food service packaging, but they also are currently made in China.

I wish I could recommend an ideal alternative brand for you, but I have not yet found one. However, I am dismayed that you have chosen what appears to be the worst available option. A more sustainable option would be to at least choose products NOT made by Cargill, and instead by a smaller manufacturer with a clearer, stronger commitment to the environment and to fair labor & business practices. Products certified by BPI, Green Seal, and/or Cradle-to-Cradle would be preferable (note, however, that such certifications do not expressly prohibit the use of GMO’s). Even if these products are made in China, or elsewhere overseas, they would still be preferable than Cargill’s GE-containing PLA containers.

I encourage you to check out these resources for more information:

• Responsible Purchasing Guide to Food Service Containers
• Sustainable Foodservice Consulting’s list of biodegradable food containers

I urge you to seriously and promptly re-evaluate your purchasing decisions regarding your food service products and to take immediate action to choose a more ethical and sustainable option. Thank you for all the good work you do in our community supporting and promoting organic products and the local economy!

Melissa Zenz
Asheville Resident
Owner, KidBean.com

I typically get at least a few new product submissions a week, from companies wanting me to review and sell their products. Much less often, my customers will actually request that I carry a particular product. In the last few months, however, I’ve had more customers ask me about PLA-based baby rattles/teethers than I have had ask about any other product. I’ve given them all the same answer and every one of them has been shocked at what they learned. For the sake of efficiency (and you know how much I love efficiency), I’ve decided I need to just write this down for future reference.

When I first heard about these rattles months ago, I began to review them using the review process I have refined over the years. First, I contacted a company locally that distributes them so I could get as much preliminary information as possible. Typically I can tell within about 5 minutes whether a product will be a good fit for KidBean, and this was no exception. My first question for the customer service rep was whether the product contained any GE material. After waiting several minutes on hold, I was told the rattles and teethers were "not 100% GE-free". Hm. That was the most clear answer I could get out of the company, so I moved on to other research channels.

Wondering why my first question was about GE material? Here’s why: corn-starch based rattles, like the Green Sprouts i-play product line, are made from PLA, which stands for polylactic acid. PLA is a biodegradable, compostable plastic derived from plants, such as corn. It’s BPA-free, PVC-free, and phthalate-free. Sounds green, right? Well…

What if I told you that the corn used in that PLA is most often genetically-engineered? And that NatureWorks, the company that makes the PLA, is owned by Cargill, the #2 largest private company in the United States? Here’s some information about Cargill from Green America’s Responsible Shopper:

• Cargill is the nation’s leading grain producer and is among the world’s leading traders of cocoa and cotton.

• It is also a major supplier of eggs, oils, sauces and beef for fast-food giant, McDonald’s.

• Cargill is being sued for knowingly sourcing from cocoa plantations that use child slave labor.

• Cargill poses a threat to farmers by pushing its genetically modified products onto the market, aggressively seeking patents for its seeds, and suing farmers that unknowingly cultivate Cargill-patented products on their farms.

The Rainforest Action Network also has some damning information about Cargill regarding their soy and palm operations.

In my book, child slavery (or any slavery, for that matter) can never be "green". I’m an extremist about slavery—it’s always wrong. I’m also definitively against genetic engineering, until GE products have been properly and sufficiently tested and proven to be safe and sustainable (in my opinion, very few products at all have ever been "properly and sufficiently tested").

These rattles are marketed as "eco-friendly" and retailers flaunt that they are BPA-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free. The last three qualities are great; but wooden rattles have these qualities, too, without child slave labor, unfair business practices, and unknown potential health & environmental effects. Eliminating BPA, PVC and phthalates but still using questionable components, like GE corn, simply isn’t safe for babies or the planet. For a similar example, just look at the recent news about manufacturers of children’s jewelry replacing lead with the even more harmful cadmium. NatureWorks PLA products are a perfect example of greenwashing. Truly sustainable products are made by truly sustainable companies with a clear, commitment to the environment, safety, and fair labor.

If my children were still babies I would certainly NOT let them near a Green Sprouts PLA rattle, or any other toy made from GE-corn.

Note that in addition to baby rattles, NatureWorks also makes a line of food containers that are used in many health food stores and eco-conscious restaurants, presumably because they just don’t know the full truth about these products. If your local health food store or restaurant uses these, please, tell them why they shouldn’t.

Do you really want your locally-grown, organic, healthy take-out dinner packed in a container made from GE corn produced by a company that enslaves children (heck, would you want a junk food dinner packed in that)? Would you still want to put your compost on your vegetable garden after the PLA containers made from GE corn had biodegraded in it? I know I wouldn’t.

So, to summarize my product research: child slave labor, genetically-engineered materials, and unfair labor and business practices. Definitely nowhere near our standards.

For my entire adult life I walked a different path. My lifestyle and parenting choices are consistently and unarguably different from the majority. I’m vegan and so are my two children. I do not vaccinate my kids. I gave birth to my son at home, a beautiful VBAC waterbirth. I homeschooled for 9 years. I co-sleep with my children. I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t wear makeup. I breastfed my kids for 4 ½ and 3 years, respectfully, including tandem for 6 months. I wore my son in a sling for years. I used cloth diapers. I compost, reuse and recycle devoutly. I choose fair-labor and eco-friendly products and insist others do the same when shopping for us. I shun artificial chemicals and fabrics. I am an activist for peace, women’s rights, children’s rights, the environment, and animal rights. I am exceedingly honest. And I apply the same ethics to my business.

The people in my life—family, friends, doctors, and even total strangers—have voiced their criticisms and judgments loudly. Though I am unsure of the original source of my strength, I do know that I was largely able to take their words in stride. I simply shrugged off the comments that I was messing up my children by not celebrating Christmas, that they would get seriously ill and die without vaccines or antibiotics or meat or…, that they would never learn at home, that they would suffocate in a family bed, that they needed plastic and electronic toys and sugar and Disney movies, and that my business would fail if I didn’t loosen up a bit on my standards and commitments to eco-friendly and labor-friendly products and companies. In fact, I didn’t just shrug off these detractors; I often factually and calmly struck right back with the reasons for my decisions, often quoting research and figures. Gradually the passage of time became both my evidence and support.

Then I said goodbye to my full, busy life and all my friends in South Florida and moved to NC in the Spring of 2006. My husband stayed behind to work until our house was sold, which took 11 months. So I balanced settling into a new place alone with two small children (then 3 and 6 ½), a home-based business that needed to fully support us for the first time, and a commitment to my not-so-easy lifestyle choices. To ease my family’s transition, I spent my days with my kids both at home and exploring our new city, and my nights working. Sleep was not part of the equation. By the time my husband moved here in early 2006, my stressful life had taken its toll and I spent time in two different hospitals. Since he didn’t have a job, he stepped in as primary caretaker and I worked ceaselessly at KidBean.

We coasted along until the Fall of 2007, when it all really began to fall apart. First, my aunt died very unexpectedly in November at the age of 45. Her death was incredibly devastating for me. The following June my grandmother died after many years of being very ill and I felt a great sense of loss and of being lost. These two women were so influential in my life it was like losing 2/3 of my mother, which my husband noted as I sobbed uncontrollably at my grandmother’s funeral. The following month I lost my cat Julia, whose last few days of her 18 ½ year life were deeply challenging. A few months later her twin brother Jordan died in the middle of the night, on the one-year anniversary of my aunt’s death, while my husband and I petted him and cried.

There were so many trials in 2008, including one that I still can’t even talk about, that we started keeping an A-Z list and had actually filled in every letter before the year was over. At the end of 2008 I looked back on it all and felt somewhat proud that I had made it through. I was able to look forward to 2009 with a bit of hope and optimism that it would be, certainly must be, a better year.

Then the year began. On January 6^th I was in a car accident, which led to almost 5 months of physical therapy and rehab. A week and a half after my accident I got the most devastating and crushing news of my life, news so powerful it actually altered the way my brain works and continues to haunt me every day. I began to face the ominous consequences of the CPSIA and the uncertainty of the future of my business, and hence, of my family’s financial security. Then my husband lost his job, and our health insurance. My formerly homeschooled children had to go to public school for the last 8 weeks of the school year. We struggled, cut costs everywhere we could, and I sold some of my most cherished possessions, as it took almost six months for my husband to find another job.

In the last few years I have felt my inner life energy and strength consistently depleted. These last two years especially have been filled with a great deal of loss and my reserves are empty. I have only a ghost of the passion I once had. In these last few years, I’ve made some decisions that are undoubtedly not in line with my ethics, and of which I am certainly not proud. For a few months I ate eggs (organic and local, of course), at the urging of both my physician and my nutritionist. I’ve allowed family and friends to gift to my children plastic toys that were made in China. I drank an entire bottle of wine in one night. I’ve treated the people I love most in ways that fill me with shame. And my typically peaceful demeanor has at times been replaced with intense rage and destructiveness.

So, my resolution for 2010 is to be selfish. To make time for myself and my own pursuits so I can refill my inner reserves. I resolve to spend time doing the things that I love to do—to run, hike, swim, practice yoga, read, write, travel, watch foreign films, go to the theater, listen to music, play the piano, build, garden, create, make nourishing food, and spend truly present time with the people that I love.

Most importantly, I resolve to re-build my tribe. One of the reasons I wanted to move to Asheville was for its community of like-minded people and yet I have never felt so alone since we moved here. I know I need to be around real people in the flesh, rather than online, so I intend to make more time to attend local events. I first met my husband online almost 15 years ago, so I’m not new to online relationships. I do appreciate what they offer but I also recognize that in-person relationships are so much more fulfilling for me.

This part of my resolution may mean working less but I recognize the value of this trade-off. I have striven always to make a difference in the world, to be the change I want to see, to live with a light footprint. In order to keep my commitment to these goals, and to be a healthy model for my children, I need to make sure my own cup is full.

There you have it. My proud and open declaration that my 2010 resolution is a purely selfish one. What are your resolutions? I’d love to hear them! If you’re in the Asheville area, maybe we’ll see each other some time soon.

I keep getting asked about this, so here are my thoughts on SIGG…

When SIGG refused to fully disclose their components in 2008, that was a red flag to me. Without a full component list, how could I make the determination whether the product would be suitable for my family or my customers? That factor alone was enough for SIGG, and several other companies, to make my "Why Don’t We Carry…?" list.

Even without full disclosure, it seemed pretty likely that SIGG’s liner contained BPA. Here’s why:

1. SIGG was open about the fact that their liner was a water-based epoxy. Epoxy almost always contains BPA.
2. SIGG was testing for BPA migration. Think about this for a moment, and then ask yourself: why would they test for it if there wasn’t a possibility it could leach from their liner? Where else could it have been coming from?
3. SIGG would not directly state that their liner did NOT contain BPA. Instead the company used carefully-crafted language to skirt the issue.

SIGG’s lab tests showed no evidence of migration, and the company asserted the safety of their liner based on these tests. But, we know such tests are insufficient to make such a determination because lab tools are not yet able to detect levels of endocrine disrupters, like BPA, in low enough amounts. Only extremely tiny amounts of these chemicals are required to be present before adverse health effects can occur. A lab test might not even be able to detect the presence of the chemical, but it could still be present in high enough, though still incredibly small, amounts to alter how our bodies function. Plus the testing methodology was insufficient. The lab merely tested for the presence of BPA in liquids that had been in the bottles and exposed to heat. A true risk-assessment of BPA would require exposing an organism with an endocrine system to the liquid and then observing and testing for adverse effects in the organism over a period of many years.

Even after SIGG’s admission that their old liner DID contain trace amounts of BPA, the company still does not fully disclose this in the FAQ on their website.

Why were consumers so willing to swallow SIGG’s misleading information and ignore the risks? Could it be because the bottoes are available with fun, cute designs, unlike most stainless steel bottles? Or could it be because they’re made in Switzerland (unlike Klean Kanteen, Think Baby, Safe Sippy, and most other stainless steel bottles, which are made in China)?

Did SIGG capitalize on misleading information at a time when consumers were alarmed about the presence of BPA in drinking bottles? I think it’s pretty clear that they did. But, I don’t think they should bear 100% of the blame. We, as consumers, must bear part of the burden of consumer safety by researching companies and products for ourselves and looking for red flags.

So what can we learn from all this? I sincerely hope the SIGG controversy will infuse consumers with a stronger demand for corporate transparency. Only when we are armed with all the facts will we be able to make truly informed decisions about what is best for our families.

For those of you who have asked for my recommendation: I suggest using glass jars (canning jars work great!) whenever possible. Get a second-hand stainless steel bottle for those times when glass isn’t suitable (if your child’s school doesn’t allow glass, or for when you’re hiking, for example). 

Let me tell you a secret about me: I love efficiency. If you want to get my attention, just tell me you have a way for me to get more things done in less time and I’m all ears. As a one-person business, mommy of 2, homeschooler, owner of 5 pets (2 canine and 3 feline), wife, and activist, I am more than a little busy. So I’m always looking for ways to streamline my life.

One of my favorite efficiency projects is to make the summarized results of some of my new product reviews available to my customers. You can find this information in the Customer Service Department under Why Don’t We Carry…?. Scratching your head over what this could possibly mean in terms of efficiency? Read on…

I noticed that I was receiving regular inquiries/suggestions from customers about the same products–products that I do not sell. Since I also love details, I have always replied happily to such customers, eager to tell them all the fascinating details I learned from my new product review process that led to my decision not to carry that product.

I thought other customers may be interested in this information as well, and saw several benefits to making it public on my site. Now when customers ask me why I don’t have product x, y or z on my site, I can simply refer them to this resource for the answers they seek. And, because the information is publicly available on my site, customers will not need to take the time to write me as often about this topic. Two points for efficiency!

Perhaps the biggest goal I have for this project, however, is change. Keep in mind that, in order for a product to be reviewed at all, it must already be better than its conventional counterpart in some significant respect (i.e. environment, labor, vegan, safety). These companies are already doing something, or several somethings, right with these products.

Please take the time to applaud them for their accomplishments and encourage them toward continued improvements. If we act as conscious consumers, if we use our dollars to "vote" for the kind of world in which we want to live, we can make a difference. This is the way to truly make Earth Day every day.

Recently I read an article at AlterNet.org about atrocious torture (it seems necessary to qualify the word "torture" in such a way these days, yet it shouldn’t be so) committed by U.S. soldiers against  prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other detention sites. I was sickened by the grisly details, but equally disgusted by our federal government’s lack of acknowledgment and condemnation of these acts. So I went to USA.gov and contacted my elected officials to demand justice for the victims and their families.

Right about now you’re wondering whether I’ve mistakenly used the wrong title for this post, but I assure you it’s relevant. As ashamed as I am about what members of my country’s military have done in the name of protecting my freedoms, I am simultaneously aware and appreciative of the fact that I am able to publicly condemn my government’s policies and actions in this case. I have the freedom to communicate openly and frankly with my elected officials to let them know that I believe we must publicly acknowledge these crimes and must hold accountable the soldiers and officials who committed them. I have the freedom to post about it on Twitter, FaceBook, and in this blog. And I, and any other American citizen, can do all of these things to publicly criticize the American government without fear of being threatened, jailed, tortured, or killed by that government. I would not be free of this fear if I lived in China.

Human rights violations by the Chinese government are not a recent development. I believe most Americans are aware of the fact that the Chinese government does not allow its citizens the same basic rights that we often take for granted here. But do we really care that Chinese citizens are silenced, imprisoned, beaten, raped, tortured, and killed by their government for acts that would be perfectly legal in the USA? While the history of such abuses is long, sadly, it is still being written today. Just this week I read a news story of a 20-year-old Chinese student who was imprisoned and raped in a "black jail" in Beijing, where she had traveled to petition the Chinese government to reinstate her after she had been expelled from college. The Committee to Project Journalists blogs about frequent and numerous instances by the Chinese government to censor journalists, using such means as detaining and beating them and destroying notes and images. Human rights violations in China spiked leading up to the 2008 Olympics, as the country prepared to put on a more appealing mask to the world. In terms of labor conditions, let me put it this way: when you hear the word "sweatshop", what country do you picture? There’s good reason for that.

So how does the world’s most populous country fare in its environmental impact? China is the world’s largest user of coal and the largest emitter of carbon, a gas that contributes significantly to global warming. In their series examining China’s pollution crisis, the NY Times reported "But just as the speed and scale of China’s rise as an economic power have no clear parallel in history, so its pollution problem has shattered all precedents."

"But, wait a minute!" you say, "My Necessary-or-My-Child-will-Die-of-Thirst-BPA-Free-Sippy-Cup by Uber Green Co. is made in China but their factory is different." Oh, different, you say. Can one really adopt a position different from that sanctioned by the government and honestly expect to operate with autonomy when that government is an oppressive communist government? We must remember: China is NOT a democracy. If a government official walked in one day and ordered the factory owner to stop using eco-friendly production methods or to stop paying his workers so much or to start adding chemical XYZ to his products, do you really think the factory owner would have a choice but to comply, without a legitimate fear of retribution?

There’s also considerable evidence that factories in China have gotten quite skilled at concealing abuses. Everything may look like roses when the American owner is there for an inspection (and be assured he/she will use photos from this trip to post on the company website to show how their Chinese factory is not like all the rest), but what do you think the chances are that the conditions for labor, environmental impact, safety, etc. may change when the owner isn’t on-site? As The Consumerist reports, "There is little that any Western company can do about those issues, no matter how seriously they take corporate social responsibility — other than leaving China."

It’s cheaper to manufacture in China, even when you factor in the cost of overseas transport for the final finished goods, because Chinese factories simply don’t have the true up-front costs factored in for labor, the environment, and safety. Don’t be misled—these costs are still paid by someone, as Annie Leonard so eloquently details in The Story of Stuff. For Chinese-made goods, they’re paid by the global community in terms of the environmental damage caused by the production of goods with lax environmental standards; they’re paid by the children who labor in sweatshops 14 hours a day, 7 days a week; they’re paid by children and families all over the world who are harmed by unsafe products manufactured in a factory run by an owner so desperate to save costs so he can keep his Wal-Mart contract that he cuts some corners here and there.

I recently read on a competitor’s site that one of her suppliers of BPA-free sippy cups has to manufacture in China because they "…searched endlessly to find an American based company. They repeatedly came away unsuccessful, with outrageous quotes for one lonely sippy cup, making it completely cost-prohibitive." Now here is where we have a strong dif
ference of opinion. First, I suspect that the "outrageous quotes" probably seemed outrageous only because they denoted the true cost of the product, without shifting any of the costs. It’s the "buy now, pay later" mentality that leads to global-scale crises like climate change.

If the only option was to manufacture in an oppressive communist country well-known for its long history of human rights, environmental, and safety violations, I would seriously question the necessity of making the product. What would the world be like if we didn’t have BPA-free sippy cups? Might we have to carry towels and spare clothes with us for our toddlers when they spilled their drinks? We humans have been carrying water with us for thousands of years. What did we use before BPA-free water bottles were invented? Similarly, are BPA-free baby bottles really necessary? What would the world be like if we used only glass baby bottles? Sure, glass is breakable, but isn’t that a minor risk to take when compared to the true cost of a made-in-China BPA-free plastic baby bottle? What would the world be like if we didn’t use bottles at all?

The real question for most consumers seems to be one of convenience. We’re aware of the labor, environmental, and safety issues, but they’re easy to discount because they don’t affect our everyday lives. Convenience is different. Convenience becomes a major factor in purchasing decisions when you’re the parent having to clean up the fifth spill from your toddler’s cup that day and it’s only 10 a.m. or when you’re having to wash yet another load of laundry for the day because your child keeps spilling liquids on her clothes. However, in my experience as a parent I have learned that the more convenient option is rarely best for my child, or for the world at large. I’m not saying convenience shouldn’t play a role in our purchasing decisions, but I do believe we need to make some difficult choices and sacrifices for the greater good.

If we really care about improving conditions in China, and in our back yards, then we need to boycott products made in China. If the only options for a given product are all made in China, then we need to seriously question whether the product is a necessity. If we determine the product is necessary, then we should make every effort to obtain one that is used (from a friend, family member, thrift store, yard sale, Freecycle, etc.). And, we must communicate to companies who manufacture in China that we are willing to pay the true cost of the product if it were to be made in a country with stricter labor, environmental, and safety regulations. Only when we are willing and able to put our money behind our values will small companies to big corporations even consider making the move. Only then may we have a chance to see what the world would be like IF…