Canadian parents have been emptying store shelves and bombarding manufacturers with orders in the past week as they scramble to stock up on baby bottles made without bisphenol A, a potentially harmful and increasingly controversial chemical common in many plastics.
The overwhelming demand has resulted in shortages across the country and backlogs at many distributors, making it difficult for some parents to get their hands on BPA-free bottles.
"There's definitely been a surge in the last week or so throughout Canada," said Ron Vigdor, president of Florida-based Born Free Inc., one of the only major companies that specialize in BPA-free bottles. "We've been told a lot of shelves are empty today."
The mounting public concern over bisphenol A, a chemical that mimics estrogen, has reached a boiling point in Canada in the past week after scientific reports and tests have shown the chemical can leach from baby bottles and may be harmful to children.
Born Free is receiving about 100 phone orders a day from Canadian consumers, many of whom have been scouring stores only to find the products have already been snapped up, Mr. Vigdor said.
"I'm hearing from mothers who say, 'I threw away everything, I need you to overnight me [the] product,' " he said.
While the company is filling orders to individuals and retailers as quickly as it can, the demand has been high and many stores don't expect new stock from Born Free or other distributors, such as Green to Grow or ThinkBaby, for several more weeks.
"No one will be able to get them for another month or so. People are sold out," said Scott Schmidt, owner of Belly Bumps and Babies in Richmond Hill, Ont.
One of the problems is that few large Canadian retailers carry bottles made without bisphenol A, and the smaller specialty stores that do say they simply can't keep up with the demand.
Mr. Vigdor said Babies "R" Us has already sold out of its supply of bottles and is waiting for more. Parent company Toys "R" Us declined to comment yesterday.
Wal-Mart Canada does have some BPA-free plastic baby bottles available in its stores. The company has plans to launch a private line of BPA-free bottles in the near future to meet the rising consumer demand, spokesman Kevin Groh said.
While many independent baby stores across Canada are expecting new shipments to arrive in the next week, most of those bottles have already been promised to parents on waiting lists.
Glass bottles are more readily available, but they have also been selling out across Canada.
"Our phone has not stopped ringing over concern about this, the plastic bottles," said Sarah Thepsouvanh, co-owner of Princess & the Pea, a children's store in Edmonton. "We have sold more bottles than we ever thought we could sell in a week. We've had people calling from all over Alberta."
Dozens of advertisements for glass bottles and BPA-free plastic bottles have also been popping up on Internet auction and classifieds sites in recent days as sellers try to capitalize on the sudden spike in demand. One Toronto seller is peddling glass baby bottles for $40 each on Kijiji.ca, a popular classifieds site - even though they typically sell for about $10 at the retail level.
"It's hard for some retailers to keep [BPA-free bottles] stocked because they are so popular right now," said Aaron Freeman, policy director for Environmental Defence, an advocacy group that has been heavily involved in the campaign against bisphenol A in consumer products. "It is going to take some time and, most importantly, a signal from government before the BPA-free bottles are widely available."
Although glass bottles are easier to buy at large retail stores than some BPA-free plastic bottles, some parents and child care organizations are wary of using them because of the increased risk of broken glass, Mr. Freeman said.
"It's a problem in daycares using glass. They've switched over to plastic for safety reasons," he said.
But parents can expect to see more plastic BPA-free bottles appearing at mainstream retail stores in the near future as that segment of the market picks up steam. Mr. Vigdor at Born Free said he has been approached by several Canadian companies about the possibility of carrying his company's BPA-free bottles.
He declined to name which companies he is talking to, but Mr. Vigdor said, "you are going to see us in some of the larger distributors in Canada."
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