you are what you know

2010-12-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

Get Mellow™, Baby!

Even before birth, parents hope for a mellow baby. Some may even pray for this. But one thing is certain: parents will have to wait to meet their baby in person before they know if their hopes have been answered. Some babies are mellow at birth, while others are colicky, which can be stressful for the entire family. Green to Grow is committed to helping those babies and their parents find relief. Meet Mellow™, our new single piece solution to reducing painful symptoms of colic and gas.

When feeding from a bottle, some babies swallow too much air, which can cause gas and spit-up. Mellow™ colic-relief nipples are designed with an air vent built directly into the base of the nipple, allowing air to circulate into the bottle as baby feeds, equalizing pressure inside the bottle, and making it easier for baby to feed. With Mellow™, parents will spend less time cleaning, assembling, keeping track of (or losing) the many small pieces needed with other anti-colic systems, and more time spent loving and feeding baby.

Mellow™ colic-relief vented nipples deliver results with ease. Made from a transparent, medical grade silicone that is heat-resistant and odorless, Mellow™ nipples are free of BPA, phthalates, PVC, lead, and nitrosamines. Compatible with all Green to Grow baby bottles, Mellow™ nipples are available in wide and regular neck models.

Green to Grow Donates $40,000 in BPA-Free Baby Bottles to Haitian Orphanage

2010-01-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

We are happy to announce Green to Grow has made a $40,000 donation of BPA-free baby bottles to Hands and Feet Project, an orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti, with a second location in Grand Goave. Our bottles will be air lifted from Ft. Lauderdale, FL directly into Jacmel by a group of pilots who have volunteered their time and their planes to deliver desperately needed goods to the Hands and Feet Project. This is truly a grassroots effort, run entirely by volunteers who are arranging for donations and scheduling flights—at least two per day. To learn more about these pilots and their efforts, check out the NY Times video In Haiti, Help From Above at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6C9actWESE.

Our donation took several days to prepare. We had to unpack thousands of BPA-free baby bottles and silicone nipples from retail packaging and repack as bulk goods. These supplies will be critical to providing care for infants and children in effected regions, as formula and powdered milk have now become available, but there are no containers from which to feed.

Thank you for your ongoing support, which has allowed us to make this donation. We are grateful for your friendship and for all you have done to help us succeed at our goal of bringing safe feeding products to families worldwide.

In solidarity,

Green to Grow

Green to Grow Donates BPA-Free Baby Bottles to Non-Profit Compass Community Services

2009-10-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Green to Grow on CBS5

Assemblymember Fiona Ma Presents Donation to Compass Community Services

Green to Grow Responds to Recent Defeat of State Senate Bill SB 797 to ban BPA with Major Product Donation to San Francisco’s Underserved Families

Compass Community Services to Receive $5,000 worth of BPA-free Baby Bottles to Help Address the Issue’s Economic and Social Injustice

Despite a ferociously fought lobbying battle, California’s Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act (SB 797) failed to garner the needed votes to ban the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers designed for children aged three and under.

In response to this legislative defeat, Green to Grow founders, husband and wife Michael Ritterbrown and Shelley Aronoff, announced the company is addressing this economic and social injustice to underserved communities by donating more than $5,000 worth of BPA-free baby bottles to San Francisco’s Compass Community Services.

On Tuesday, September 29, California State Assembly member Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) presented the Compass Community Services donation on behalf of the Los Angeles-based leading BPA-free baby bottle and accessories manufacturer.

Vice President Aronoff, and President Ritterbrown have been supporting BPA-free legislation in spirit and in action since founding Green to Grow in 2007. Through its focus on environmental and social responsibility, and in support of SB 797, the Los Angeles-based company has recently donated $20,000 worth of BPA-free baby bottles and nipples to non-profit organizations and community health clinics that serve low-income families across California. These organizations share their commitment to educate families about safer alternatives to polycarbonate plastics.

“I take this issue personally,” said Aronoff. “Green to Grow was founded on the belief that all infants and children deserve to use safe feeding devices, not just those whose parents have access to these products. Many larger retailers such as Walmart, Target, Babies R’ Us, Safeway, and Whole Foods have, on their own initiative, phased out BPA in products for infants and young children. They’re responding to parents’ demand for safer alternatives.”

“But due to a lack of transportation and resources, low income families are often left to shop at local discount retailers, where products containing BPA may be the only option on the shelf. I’m not comfortable with the fact that my son is protected from the harmful health effects of BPA while others less fortunate than I have children who are feeding from devices that leach a toxic chemical into their food. I believe it is my responsibility, as a citizen and a business owner, a mother and a caretaker, to do my best to protect all families, regardless of their income level.”

Green to Grow’s donations are part of its ongoing outreach philosophy in which it gives back to communities in need while helping to educate parents about issues related to children’s health and the environment. In addition to its Compass Community Services donation, and in further support of SB 797, Green to Grow has also donated BPA-free baby bottles to the following non-profit organizations in California:

• Women, Infants, and Children Center in Rancho Cordova
• MEND in Pacoima
• Compton Central Health Clinic
• Pediatrics Department of the Natividad Medical Center in Salinas
• For Kids Foundation in Ontario
• St. John’s Well Child & Family Center in Los Angeles
• Women’s Shelter of Long Beach
• Donna Leffler Health Clinic in Rialto

Green to Grow has created the Bottles to Babies initiative, which uses the Green to Grow web site as a vehicle to connect customers who are no longer using their gently used baby bottles with local non-profit organizations and women’s shelters that accept new or gently-used baby bottle donations. Green to Grow’s Bottles to Babies initiative is truly a grassroots effort. With the help and support of its customers, Green to Grow is in the process of developing a national database of donation drop off locations.