As we have a lot of new thinkers with us now, I thought I’d take a moment to share some of our history and where we are going.  Because at the end of the day, does the world need another baby bottle or sports bottle or sunscreen?  We actually don’t think so.  But the world does need a company that is focusing across the board on producing safe products.  We joke that we’re not as big as Proctor and Gamble, but we would argue that we are a lot more important.

After working for a laboratory, which received funding from the National Institutes of Health, it became  abundantly clear that consumer products were fraught with potentially harmful chemicals.  Additionally, it didn’t matter if the product was made in China, the US or Switzerland.  There were chemicals leaching that had the potential to cause endocrine disruption, cancer and reproductive harm.  It also became quickly clear that governmental regulation was not on the near horizon.  So, I tried to get many major corporations to make the change, but they refused.  I think they were largely worried about the potential for litigation.  Whatever their motivation or lack thereof, most baby bottles on the market were made from polycarbonate (which is made from bisphenol-A).  And there was no chance that we were going to sit idly by, as companies continued to provide toxic products.

We launched thinkbaby and thinksport to offer consumers alternatives to what was currently available.  We quickly fielded requests from parents to create a safe sports bottles and many other products.  We specifically target products which contain chemicals/materials of concern. We accomplish our mission through working with a team of physicians and scientists focused on the latest chemical and biological science.  This approach not only keeps us abreast of the latest research, but keeps us at the forefront of safe product development. Our efforts are further energized by working with both our leading child advocacy partners and like-minded individuals who seek alternative products. thinkbaby and thinksport approaches each product category with the same criteria. Safe. Functional. Sustainable.

The first line in the sand that we draw surrounds material safety.  The Precautionary Principle is a good friend of ours.  We don’t jump on new materials just because they are free of one chemical – like bisphenol-A.  The reason resides in the strong potential for landing on another potentially harmful chemical.  Instead we stay keenly focused on the latest emerging studies.  If we can’t substantiate that a material is safe, it’s a no go.  We should also add that we understand the difference from valid science and industry-funded science. We won’t work with scientists or doctors that endorse specific products. We believe the best scientists and doctors stay agnostic of brand/marketing promotion.  As soon as you enter payment from a company to an individual, you you cannot be guaranteed that you’re receiving unbiased information.

We then ask is the product functional?  We don’t want to create the same old tired thing in the marketplace.  For example, we studied the sports bottle market.  And it was clear that cheap single-walled bottles were ubiquitous. While they have the potential to be safe, you can’t cold fill them or hot fill them – not really functional we thought.  We could create a really safe metal box, but why?  So, we look at problems within a category and look to improve upon the category.  We also put “economical” into the functional category.  The goal is to have products that are pocket book friendly. It doesn’t make sense for us to produce product that only a few affluent individuals can afford.  If we are going to successfully help the world, we need to make sure that the world can obtain safe solutions.

And finally we look to make our products sustainable.  We approach this goal in two ways. Either the product needs to have an extremely long functional life or it needs to be recyclable.  The truth though is that we try to do both.  For example, our baby bottle line can be transformed into our award winning sippy cup.  This ability alone allows a parent to save their 8 – 10 bottles and use them for at least another year.  While this saves parents money, more importantly it saves the environment from excess waste. And our new line of baby bottles are made from No. 5 plastic and can be recycled.  When we built our Complete BPA Free Feeding Set, we lined the products with stainless steel.  They not only last the first child’s use, but the second.  And we always hear from parents how much they love using them.

We will continue to expand our products suite to offer alternatives to existing products on the market.  We hear more and more folks refer to us as a lifestyle brand focused on safe products and that truly is the goal.

Achieving our mission is quite complex, but our focus is simple – create safe, non-toxic  consumer products.

Thanks for supporting our efforts.

Warmest,

Kevin Brodwick, founder