Two of the best and greenest reusable food container brands

Saturday, May 29, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: food containers, lunch, health news

(NaturalNews) Many health-conscious individuals understand the value in preparing healthy food at home for both themselves and their children. Not only is this practice economical, but it provides a superior option to fast food and school lunchroom fare. In response to this growing trend, many companies have begun to spring up that make reusable eating ware.

Plastic bags and containers, which are most commonly used to tote food on-the-go, are now known to leech dangerous chemicals into food. So are there any practical, safe alternatives? In this review, I have evaluated two of the top reusable eating ware brands that are safe, environmentally-friendly, plastic-free and practical.

Eco Ditty
Eco Ditty makes sandwich and snack bags that are composed of 100 percent organic cotton. The idea was birthed out of the discovery that the founder's daughter was allergic to PVC plastic and that a suitable alternative was needed.

The variety of unique exterior designs are printed with low-impact inks and dyes while the interior liners that come into contact with the food are un-dyed. (Although low-impact dyes are still petroleum-derived, they are the best available alternative to conventional dyes when printing vibrant colors on fabric. Low-impact dyes are commonly used on organic fabric products and are generally considered to be safe and non-toxic.)

The neat thing about Eco Ditty's bags is that they are fully adjustable in size and can be washed in the dishwasher, by hand or in the washing machine. Because they are organic, you do not need to worry about GMO or pesticide contamination, which earned this company the top pick status in this category.

To learn more about Eco Ditty, please visit www.ecoditty.com.

ECO Lunchbox
ECO Lunchbox makes handmade lunch bags, napkins, stainless-steel food containers and sustainable bamboo and steel utensils, all of which can be purchased separately or in a single kit. All the pieces are lead-free, BPA-free, PVC-free and vinyl-free, and there are many different styles from which to choose. Founder Sandra Harris originally developed the products to provide a practical, safe and environmentally-friendly way to pack lunches for her children.

The neat thing about the company's stainless-steel food containers is that even the lids are made from steel, ensuring that food does not come into contact with any plastic. At the same time, they are not 100 percent leak-proof like some other brands that use plastic are, so there is a trade-off involved. However aside from glass which is breakable, stainless-steel seems to be the best option for safe food containers.

The products are sustainably-produced, but the only current drawback is the company's use of non-organic cotton in its napkins. Sandra Harris, founder of ECO Lunchbox, indicated that she is actively working towards bringing in a quality source for organic cotton to be used in the future.

Overall, both the company ethic and the product quality are impressive, so ECO Lunchbox earns a top spot for highly recommended reusable eating ware.

For more information about ECO Lunchbox, please visit www.ecolunchboxes.com.