which is the most ethical formula company

[Reallytired]

I will be going back to work when my daughter is 10 months. My daughter is 3 months at the moment. I will have to mix feed as I cannot express milk to save my life. [guilt emoticon] I am hoping to carry on breastfeeding morning and evening and night feeds.

Assuming that she takes formula at nursery which formula company has the least poor record for breaking marketing rules.

NONE OF THEM!!

Mummy369, I rather agree with you that there's no such thing as an ethical formula company (I and other MNers have posted about Hipp above, think they undermine bfing). But OP also needs to decide what to do when she goes back to work, as I will.

A 10 month old if not allergic to it can probably have ordinary cows milk as part of food meals eg with cereal, no need to do formula then. If my CM does have to use formula it will just be one or two milk feeds a day, and I hope I won't have to use it when I'm around again. I had to ff DS1 after I failed with bf and I hate everything about it including the dodgy ethics of all baby food companies.

I just had an e-mail from Baby Milk Action apparently Aptamil has been found guilty of breaking the codes. Here is a bit of e-mail.

"Baby Milk Action had queried the claim that Aptamil is the 'best follow-on formula' and that IMMUNOFORTIS, a made-up name for an ingredient in Aptamil, supports the immune system. The ASA found that Danone/Milupa, that makes Aptamil, could not substantiate the claims. It was found to have broken the advertising codes clauses on substantiation, truthfulness and comparisons.
The misleading advertisement was one of the cases highlighted in the monitoring reports we produce for the Baby Feeding Law Group (BFLG). The latest of these was published in March and presents an overview of the strategies used by the companies to push their products and was presented to the UK Government independent review panel examining the effectiveness of the law. You can find the report by clicking here.
The ASA took 2 years to investigate the claims made in the Aptamil advertisements and as well as making the initial challenge, we had to respond to draft rulings and the company's arguments several times.
Purchasing the report, or other items from our online Virtual Shop helps to fund our work.
While the ASA took up the case on this occasion, its policies mean it rejects many of the complaints we make without even investigating them. And while Danone can no longer make these untrue claims in advertising, its websites and labels are not covered by the ASA voluntary code and so far the law has proven ineffective at forcing changes. We will continue to press for a stronger law and highlight the absurdity of these loopholes.
While working to end company misinformation, we are also campaigning for the government to provide parents and carers who use formula with independent, objective information about the ingredients in formula and the differences between brands.
It is through people like you supporting us financially, reporting cases of misleading promotions, backing our campaigns and spreading the word that enables us to win these important cases. So thank you for your support."

If I was formula feeding I think I would choose Hipps Organic.

Or why don't you ask Baby Milk Action for advice on which formula brand? Can't hurt.

When DS was six months he was still feeding 3-4 hourly throughout day and night. A few weeks later we'd cut out night feeds, and he had 5 feeds a day - 5am, 8am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm. When he was eight months we managed to combine the two early morning feeds into one (7am) and brought the 11am one forward to 10am, and in the last week (he's now nine months) we've cut out that mid-morning one. So I feed DS at 7am and 7pm, and the nursery now only has to give him one feed a day, at 3pm. It's gone down a lot quite rapidly, feels weird but still seems to be what he wants.

I used SMA but also used Hipp when my son was older.

Not sure why Formula companies are considered evil - they provide a service to many many women (and babies) who need it. Just think about the following: you see a lady with a baby in a cafe, who is being botlle-fed:

1. Baby is actually not that lady's - could be aunt's, carer's etc.

1. Mother is dead or very ill, so again, lady with baby is carer or relative.

1. Baby is adopted.

1. Mother has condition which prevents breastfeeding.

Just think, before you condemn.

And I fail to see why advertising formula is such a big deal. Are we really all so stupid that we can't make a decision as to whether to formula feed or bf unless we see adverts? The ads are there to get someone to choose that formula, not to get someone to give up bf. I think it is so insulting to the majority of mothers in this country to say that we are so dim, we will suddenly stop bf because we've seen an ad on the TV. I strongly believe the vast majority of us are a little brighter than that.

However, I can't comment on activities in the third world as I don't know enough about it. But I don't think their activities in the UK are remotely evil. Evil is a strong word.

I use formula with DS.
I use C&G because it is (was until the current crisis) available in the shops.

My advice would be to base your decision on the following:

• availability

Can you buy it in the local shop, 24 hours shop & supermarket, so when 1 runs out you have several sources.

• consistency

DS (has difficulties) has a strong preference for Ready Made and wont take powdered.

• convienience

IMO BF is way more convienient, but then I am biased because I find formula soooo stressful. You will never run out, your child will always want it, it cant be mixed incorrectly by the new girl.

C&G (& Aptamil because they are made by the same people) are currently no available within a 5-mile radius of my house in Central London. This is causing me much grief and I am determined to soil the good name of C&G by telling everyone how unreliable their supply is. I have telephoned and they cant give me a date for when supply will return to normal or a consistent reason.

Formula companies aren't evil, they are making money by selling a product. BUT C&G/ Aptamil are unreliable suppliers at the moment IMO.

Hellywobs, do some reading, then comment again

On a wider note, not just directed at you, Helly, it constantly amazes me how people say "I don't know anything about , but I think you're wrong" (I'm paraphrasing) about all sorts of things online.

Ill-informed personal opinion is the new black, it would seem!

This is interesting re Hipp Organic

Hellywobbs, I think you are mixing up formula feeding and formula companies.

Formula as a product is not evil. It will always be needed- including in the very extreme circumstances you've listed.

People's concern is with the formula companies. They are not just seeking to increase market share, but to increase the market for formula itself. Their interests lie in normalising bottle feeding and there have been many, very detailed, discussions on this on here. No one is daft enough to think women say "ooh, there's an ad for formula, I'll bottle feed now". However, formula companies carefully market the advantages of bottle feeding (See the debate on the "I'll do my share of night feeds" ads), they try to indicate that their product is just as good as breastfeeding ("Does my tummy look unhappy?" ads and the Immunofortis debacle) and they normalise the use of a bottle. My 15 year old cousin, for example, thinks breastfeeding is "icky" and asked why you'd do it when formula is just as good . My cousin is not dim, but she has definitely been affected by the commercial messages around her as she has grown up.

Do you really, honestly, believe that formula companies are not trying to increase their market? It they were just competing with other brands, wouldn't their adverts be like many of those you see for supermarkets - i.e directed at proving superiority to the competitor product. SMA, for example, don't advertise as better than Aptimil. They all advertise by direct or indirect comparison to breastmilk.

People are not condeming formula, or the mums who choose to/have to feed that way. In fact, some of the ff mums I know are the most damning of the very companies they buy from. Ideologically, there is a strong case for formula production being effectively nationalised, with no profit motive and simply different formulations for people's needs. It would never happen in reality, of course...