Comments on: Bag the brown bag: Eco-friendly lunch boxes and totable utensils

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:20:54 +0000

Hi Siel,

thanks for this great information – and your blog in general. I only just recently learned about tiffins from the Ten Thousand Villages website. Their tiffins are produced by Noah’s Ark, a fair trade co-operative in India so I thought folks might also be interested in checking those out. I’m actually doing research on them as we’re trying to place a very large wholesale order. I love the environmental aspects of the tiffins, but was wondering if you could comment on the sourcing. Do you know where those you’ve mentioned on your site are made and under what conditions?

Thanks so much,

Phyllis
probinson@equalexchange.coop
http://www.SmallFarmersBigChange.coop

By: Moni

Moni — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:51:55 +0000

Hi Siel, Great blog! We’re thrilled to read your post on eco-friendly lunch tools.
Moni´s last blog ..Healthy Lunchbox Ideas

By: Siel

Siel — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:51:56 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, Jay. I have a feeling Life Without Plastic will soon become one of my fave stores — You’ve got some very cute AND functional stuff!

Katrina — I can see how you got confused…. Usually, the PVC-free label’s used on products that look like they could be made with PVC (i.e. shower curtains).

Rosemary — I was seriously considering the Sigg cutlery cuz it’s so nice and compact! By intense, do you mean that it just looks kinda scary cuz it’s so metallic and in the shape of a swiss army knife?

By: Rosemary

Rosemary — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:53:17 +0000

I love the Zojirushi--so adorable! However, I too have found that sometimes the cutlery in lunch containers leaves something to be desired. Clearly not the sigg--that stuff looks intense! I just keep a fork and spoon from home stashed in my office drawer. Rosemary’s last blog post..What's Your Line?

By: Katrina

Katrina — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:29:06 +0000

Thanks for clarifying! I don’t know where I had heard, but for some reason I was under the impression that there might be PVC in the Built NY products. I suppose it doesn’t help that their product specs on their site never say PVC-free, especially for people like me who were initially freaked by the notion that it may be in my wetsuit (also made of neoprene).

By: M

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:13:22 +0000

I have the 3 layer to-go ware tiffin and I love it! The taller/more narrow footprint fits in my bag well and it's big enough to fit my lunch and some afternoon snacks. It's easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher. I keep a ceramic mug at work to give myself the flexibility of warming up food if necessary. I've received countless compliments on it. I like the bamboo To-Go ware cutlery set with it so I don't have metal utensils hitting a metal surface. To-go ware also makes small metal snack containers (sidekicks), which I'm also a big fan of. I had questions and an issue with my To-Go Ware and the company provided an excellent customer service experience. (I ordered directly from To-Go Ware: http://www.to-goware.com/) M’s last blog post..Book Review - The Organic Food Shopper's Guide

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:34:57 +0000

Hi Siel, Great blog! We’re thrilled to read your post on eco-friendly lunch tools. There are more and more alternatives out there to the ubiquitous unsafe plastic containers, so it’s wonderful that you’re helping spread the word with solid reviews. Of course, we’re very happy that you like our bento box too — you’re not alone, it’s a popular one, as are our variety of tiffins and other stainless lunch containers (including the super popular airtight ones). As for the cedar used to make the box, you raise an excellent point – we too are not sure if it is FSC-certified, but we intend to find out. We do test our products, so we know it is food-safe. The boxes are actually carved and put together in China and then returned to Japan for application of the urushi lacquer and final careful quality control.
Thanks for doing what you do.
All the best,
Jay

By: Siel

Siel — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:32:48 +0000

MsMeryMac — Those sandwich wrappers are indeed better looking — and I think easier to use — than those disposable plasticky thingies :)

Katrina — Just to clarify, the Built NY products are made with neoprene, not PVC. I’m not sure if you meant they were in your comment, but wanted to clarify in case a reader thought so. Anyway, yes, PVC should not be used in any food-related function — or really any function. Avoid PVC-containing lunchboxes!

meg — Good to know about cheaper boxes, though I do tend to like a brand guarantee behind the materials used (and the safety of them). Still, if they’re made by the same manufacturer the same way….

By: meg

meg — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:13:48 +0000

I’ve been taking my Laptop Lunchbox to work four days a week or so for two years, and I love it. On the other hand, I haven’t been all that happy with the To-Go Ware cutlery set I carry in my bag all the time — the spoon’s too shallow, the fork and knife too blunt.

You can get tiffin boxes (like the To-Go Ware set) in Indian grocers for much less. At least a couple of times, I’ve seen the exact same product — manufacturer, specifications, and labeling.

By: Katrina

Katrina — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:46:35 +0000

Hi Siel! Agree that the Built NY products are cute, but am curious how you feel about the whole PVC thing. I am assuming you’ve done more research on the subject than I, but when I looked into different lunch totes and finally decided on the one I own (Toto by Kelty, which at the time of purchase a year ago was tagged as having an interior made of recycled plastic, though curiously, on the website I no longer find that indicated) I was definitely wary of that whole debate. Have been on the lookout for something similar to the To-Go Ware lunch kit so can’t wait to check it out! Thanks!