Dear Ttp Pvc Free And Phthalate Free Bath Mats || The Tranquil Parent

Dear TTP: PVC-free and phthalate-free bath mats

By Jeremiah greener

January 10, 2009

Dear Tranquil Parents,

Until our 14-month-old learns to stay seated and still in the tub, what safe bathtub mats are out there? I'm all for anti-slip, but I don't want vinyl, and all the rubber products have anti-microbial chemicals in them. I don't want those chemicals leaching into his bath water!

Alison

Dear Alison,

Great question. Bath mats aren't something many parents think of when they think of PVC products that can expose their family members to unhealthy and environmentally unfriendly chemicals, and we hadn't thought about them much ourselves. But we have done extensive research on phthalates, BPA and PVC in bath toys for the same reason - exposure to hot water increases chemical leaching, and combining that with the bare skin of kids taking baths and that skin's relative receptiveness to absorbing chemicals in a warm environment, anyone concerned about BPA, phthalates, and other chemicals in infant feeding products, toys and teethers should be alert to these sources as well.

We did some research and discovered some rubber bath mats, which we are uncomfortable recommending as an alternative; latex allergies are a serious matter for many children and adults, and it is believed that latex allergies are caused by early and frequent exposure to latex (with a genetic component thrown in, of course). But we were thrilled to discover another inexpensive bath mat made of TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) - made by ACE Hardware, of all companies. There are probably a lot of other TPE bath mats out there that just aren't advertised as such, but most will be made of PVC ("vinyl") and are also quite likely to contain phthalates.

Thanks to you, we now have a "bath mat" section in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products, and are looking forward to adding in many of the ubiquitous vinyl mats as well as new alternatives as we find them. Thanks for helping us make the ZRecs Guide a better resource, and keep those questions coming!

Categories: chemical safety

5 comments | Comment on post

5 Comments

1. Alison [1/11/09]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

2. Michele [1/14/09]

I’ve been going crazy trying to find an alternative. Thank you so much for finding this for us! I just ordered one - and even saved a bit by using their Ship to Store option. Thank you!

3. Lisa [1/26/09]

Can you tell me why an all natural rubber bathmat would be harmful? I purchased one from Target and it doesn’t say it has anti-microbial properties...am I missing something?

4. Jeremiah [1/26/09]

We generally look for alternatives to natural rubber, as early and frequent latex exposure has been linked to the development of latex allergies, which are then a lifelong condition. We offer the same advice when it comes to pacifiers and baby bottles, favoring silicone over rubber in those cases for the same reason. We also include latex as a “chemical of concern” in the ZRecs Guide to Safer Children’s Products, simply so parents can filter out results that contain it if they are interested in avoiding latex.

By our understanding of the issue (by no means an expert one) latex is less an issue for older children or adults, who are less susceptible to development of the allergy if they don’t already have one.

Hope this helps!

5. Diana Massarenti [2/11/09]

I bought one of those natural bath mats from VitaFutura. They are made in Germany and they do say PVC-free on the package, but I don’t think they are all natural. It smelled so strongly in the package--like paint thinner or something. I’m not even sure I can return it because they say bath mats are final sale. I also bought the Ace Hardware mat (which smelled just a little), and after I washed it, it had no smell at all. You might want to get two of those, since they are a little small to fit the whole tub and baby slides around if she starts walking in the tub.