Glass baby bottles vs. plastic baby bottles

We are extremely proud that our BIBS Baby Bottle is made of glass. Not only can glass be recycled and reused endless times, but it is also a practical and durable alternative to a plastic bottle. Let us explain why.

Glass baby bottle advantages

Emits no microplastics or other harmful toxins

The issue with baby bottles in plastic is that the advised method of sterilizing the bottle increases the number of microplastics released. This is due to two factors:

1. High temperatures required for sterilization.
2. Shaking bottles to mix the formula in.

A study published in Nature Food* found plastic baby bottles can expose infants to thousands (even millions) of particles of microplastics per day. This is much higher than previously thought. The study estimated that babies on average are exposed to 1.6 million microplastic particles a day during their first year when fed using plastic bottles. And we currently don’t know if or how that affects a baby’s health.

The study discovered during lab testing that the high levels of microplastic particles released from plastic baby bottles happened during sterilization and formula preparation, because of the high temperatures combined with shaking the bottle when the formula is mixed in.

Since glass resists chemicals and acid degradation, you don’t need to worry about harmful chemicals or microplastics leaking into the milk.

Resistant to shape changes, discoloring, stains, taste- and odor transmission

Unlike plastic bottles, glass bottles do not change shape and color over time. Further, plastic bottles easily stain and pick up odors and flavors, whereas glass does not.

Glass is durable and reusable

Plastic bottles are prone to scratches. These scratches can become spaces for bacteria to live and prosper. Glass bottles are more durable and do not pick up scratches as easily as plastic bottles. This also means that you do not have to replace a glass bottle as often as you have to with plastic bottles. In this regard, glass bottles are more environmentally friendly than plastic bottles, since they can be reused endlessly without losing their quality and purity, no matter how many times they are reused.

Our baby bottles are made of borosilicate glass. This means that the bottle is much sturdier and stronger than normal glass and therefore is harder to break.

Read more about the characteristic of borosilicate glass here >

Easy to clean and sanitize

Because plastic is prone to scratches, they are difficult to clean and sanitize. Our glass baby bottles can be washed in the dishwasher without the fear of chemical leaching due to the high temperatures.

Check out how to clean our BIBS Baby Glass Bottle >

Glass baby bottle disadvantages

Glass can break

A glass bottle can of course break if subjected to sufficiently intense force, whereas plastic bottles normally do not break if dropped on the floor.

Our BIBS Baby Glass Bottle is made of borosilicate glass, which is more durable and harder than regular glass, and therefore harder to break. It holds up against harder drops and impacts than regular glass.

Glass bottles are heavier than plastic

A glass bottle is normally heavier than a plastic bottle. The weight of a glass bottle can make it difficult for a small child to hold the bottle when being fed. Plastic bottles are lighter, so your baby will be able to hold the bottle sooner than it would with a glass bottle.

*Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation (2020)

Shop our BIBS Baby Glass Bottle here >>