There has been a lot of news lately about the overwhelming amount of BPA in store receipts. Just when a lot of us thought we'd cleared that hurdle by using BPA-free plastics, canned goods, etc, BPA shows up in a form that is very hard to avoid. Once I heard this, I was extra vigilant about using my hand sanitizer (yep, that again) as soon as I got to the car - a stopgap precaution before I could get to the sink at home. And then THIS. In a recent article, The Environmental Working Group, "...warns not to use an alcohol based hand sanitizer after handling a receipt as it causes greater absorption of the chemical." Sigh. This is a tough one.
There are strategies to minimize the exposure - I'll try carrying an envelope for receipts and having the cashier (poor exposed cashiers!) place the receipt directly in the envelope without touching it. Not ideal, but a start.
My hope is that some of the many phone apps geniuses out there will develop apps that enable consumers to get a digital copy of the receipt before it is even printed. There is a barcode on the bottom of each receipt after all - and I scan all kinds of barcodes with my (beloved) Droid. So - can it really be so hard to do? I’d be equally thrilled with a receipt that was available online, or via email. Anything to keep these dratted pieces of paper out of my hands – and my kids reach – while still enabling me to document transactions (see Honey, I do try to stay organized!). I can tell you this - I would go out of my way to shop at a store that offered these types of options. Would you?
This kind of exposure I was not aware of through receipts! I feel that a usage of online media apps could not only limit that exposure but effectively eliminate it someday. Check out QR's (QR codes) ... this can tie in nicely perhaps.
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