Why (& How) I Stopped Taking Receipts At Stores | Toxins, BPA, BPS

If you asked me what’s the underlying personal motivating factor or motto when it comes to health it would be “Doing What’s Best For My Hormone’s Sake”.

After many years and research, I’m pretty much convinced that if I’m able to balance or protect my hormones, I’m a champion of all my health systems and an overall badass at the same time.

Although I’m not a doctor, my years of research have pointed to the oversimplified fact that things which throw your hormones off, also do the same for other systems in the body as well. Once thrown off, a body can become a playground for all sorts of diseases. Doing right by them can almost always keep your health in the right direction.

That is why I try to take such a holistic approach to wellness as the spectrum for healing is often so broad.

But what does any of this have to do with receipts, right?

When I was little, a lot of stores issued receipts using old school ink. I recognize that I’m dating myself, but stay with me here.

Over the decades, businesses have moved to cheaper thermal printed paper which uses heat as a reactor for the dyes. It eliminates the need for ink entirely.

However, many of these thermal paper receipts have chemicals including BPA.

What is BPA? What is BPS?

The thing is, according to this study by the Ecology Center on receipts in 2018, this paper contains plastic chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol A) and BPS (Bisphenol S), which can potentially have negative effects on hormones, metabolism, and other bodily systems.

Yes, this is the same BPS that companies have stopped using in baby toys and bottles. Any yes, the same many people are trying to avoid in plastic bottles and containers by not heating food in or drinking hot water you left in your trunk last week.

In the above study, BPS levels increased with repeated exposures and with moist or greasy hands. The chemicals can spread to anything in contact with including other things in your wallet including credit cards and money. The chemicals can also be ingested if hands aren’t washed.

Interestingly enough, BPAs and BPSs that are ingested leave the body faster than those touched. Either way, try to always opt for BPA free lined cans when shopping for food.

POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS OF BPA/BPS

As mentioned above and in many studies, BPA and BPS has been shown to have negative effects on hormone function, metabolism, “potential effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children“, high blood pressure. 

According to this NY Times article and study, “The accumulating research fuels rising concern among scientists that childhood exposure to BPA may well contribute to female infertility, and that adult exposure may result in a shorter reproductive life span.”

Long story short,

PLASTIC + HEAT + HUMANS = POTENTIAL TOXIN PLAYGROUND

That said, I’ve started becoming extra careful with my overall plastic exposure and even quit taking receipts in store (when possible). I’ve also been more mindful of my children’s exposure to receipts and thermal printed paper.

To be honest, it’s almost impossible to completely avoid receipts. Sometimes there is no way around it, especially when you purchase clothes in store. I too like holding onto my receipts just in case I need to return them.

But here are a couple of ways I’ve drastically reduced my exposure:

1. Opt For Digital Receipts

Many grocery and department stores are starting to offer digital receipt options when making in-store purchases. This sometimes means you also end up signing up for their email list, but *insert shrug emoji* it’s a give and take.

2. Use Your Credit/Debit Card To Make Returns

Returns are a huge concern when denying or throwing out receipts. Many stores like Target allow you to make returns using just your credit or debit card. When you take the item back, they swipe the card you made the purchase with to see if it comes up in their system. You will receive the funds back directly on that card when it is found.

3. Avoid/Limit Touching Paper While Placing In Envelope With Other Receipts

When all other options are not available, I take the receipts and place them altogether in an envelope in my bag. This might be a good option for those who aren’t comfortable with the first two options or digital services are not provided.

4. Purchase Items Online

This option works for many reasons but only in certain situations. When available, purchasing clothes and shoes online allows you to not only avoid getting exposure to the receipt, it avoids the store altogether. This leads to avoiding the temptation to wander and shop in the first place. See what I did there.

All jokes aside, many stores are starting to only send digital receipts and return labels for their online orders which make the exposure to BPA/BPSs lower.

In addition, you can use cashback websites like TopCashBack, Rakuten, and iBotta to accumulate savings and a check back on your regular purchases.

5. Wait To Moisturize My Hands

This is a complex one for me as I HATE ashy, dry hands on myself (and others). My friends literally have crazy stories of me avoiding contact with people with excessively visibly ashy hands. I know, it sounds crazy but that person’s hands looked like they were clapping baby powder in the air like Lebron James.

But, I’ve stopped excessively moisturizing my hands (especially when grocery shopping) to avoid the increased absorption of BPAs on these thermal printed receipts. Check the above studies for more details on that.

6. Wash My Hands More Often

What can’t a good old bar of soap and water do? According to the study above, simply washing your hands more often when exposed to receipts and thermal paper can reduce the chemical absorption.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried to make my way to a bathroom and use soap and water instead of hand sanitizer. While many sanitizers have started changing their formulation to reduce or avoid using so much alcohol, some of the less conscious and less expensive ones have not.

I have tried to avoid OVERUSING hand sanitizers based on studies which show some bacteria’s increased tolerance of these hand cleaning solutions. This resulted in them not being effective against as many infections as they could be and living longer than they had in the past.

So just wash your hands more often.

This as with any of the wellness education posts I share, is not meant to have you going into the stores and down the street in a bubble. It’s made to empower you and give you options to make wellness easier in real life.

Heck, this post can also help you reduce your paper waste, so yay to climate change efforts, right?!

Leave me comment below of what changes you’ve started to reduce your BPA exposure.

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