The FDA's reversal of its decision on BPA is one more sign that the way we use plastics today may be on the verge of a significant shift.

More and more studies are implicating plastics in health problems ranging from reproductive disruption to obesity to ADHD to cancer. The FDA has vowed to be more responsive to health concerns about plastic. And consumers have shown that they will respond quickly and dramatically to perceived health threats from products, especially when risks are higher for children, as they seem to be with plastic.

It seems clear that the more we learn about how plastics affect human health, the more urgently we may try to usher in a "low-plastic" future. Businesses that see this future coming can minimize their risk and even gain a competitive advantage by acting now.