#LeadFree: White Crate & Barrel Dishes
Newer Crate & Barrel plate : Negative (non-detect) for lead and arsenic.
Tested with an XRF instrument
#XRFTesting
Please note: not all Crate & Barrel dishware is negative for lead (when tested with an XRF.) The owner of this particular dish told me that it was purchased “recently” as of January 2016. Also please note that not all plain white china is lead-free, there is no “rule of thumb”… I have tested lots of plain white china that has, in fact, been very high lead!
For more lead-safe dishware options, click here.
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The label ‘MISLEAD’ means, the plate contains lead, correct?
But in the article, you said ‘Negative (non-detect) for lead and arsenic’.
It is confusing.
Can you specify which one you tested is lead free?
Thank you.
No, MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic is the name of the film I have produced and directed about the hidden epidemic of lead exposure in America today. It’s just my business card that I included in the post, it has nothing to do with the lead reading of the item. The dishes pictured in each post has the reading noted. If I don’t list more information (like style or brand) it is because I don’t have more information about that particular piece. Sorry!
Haha! So glad that person asked this question. I’ve been in yo site several times and also thought it was sooo confusing. I finally came across this comment. Come to think of it it might’ve been me that made that comment haha. Thanks so much for doing what you do! Do you have any info on the crate barrel HUE plates?
Hello.
I appreciate you & your work!
Which xrf testing equipment do you recommend?
Also, is there a reason you don’t include HF Coors products in your recommendations for lead free (btw- also made in US)?
Thank you!
Hi! not all of the HF Coors I have tested have been lead-free. Here’s my XRF post: https://tamararubin.com/xrf/
Here’s one I tested.
https://tamararubin.com/2017/10/coors_mug/
Hi! Thank you so much for the work you are doing! I wanted to ask if you have tested the Marin line of dish ware from crate and barrel. We have switched to Duralex glassware dishes but still use the Marin set occasionally. It’s also one of the most popular items ten years going.
Does the pictured bowl that you tested have the SKU 673066 (https://www.crateandbarrel.com/hue-white-low-bowl/s673066?st=673066)? I bought this bowl yesterday. I am hoping to learn that you found it tested negative for lead and arsenic. If I cannot be certain it has a non-detectable level of lead, I will be returning it. Thanks for your reply and all of your efforts.
I don’t know more about the piece – just what is shown in the post.
I called Crate and Barrel customer service. I am waiting for an email reply with information about the lead content of the Hue White Low Bowl. I will post the answer here.
Terrific! Thank you! #ItTakesAVillage!
As promised, I am posting Crate and Barrel’s response. I inquired about the lead content of both an Anchot Hocking glass pie plate and a Crate and Barrel shallow ceramic bowl (for detailed info on the bowl, please see my previous post).
Kris Scoville 6/14/2018 4:24 PM 448026 Deep Glass Pie Dish (AnchorHocking) To Furniture Customer Coordinator
Dear Maureen, Here is the information I received. Hopefully you will find this helpful in shopping. Please let me know if there is anything else I might assist with.
Thank you,
Kris
The reason some products are not listed with lead information it is only required to call out when when lead is present. Almost all glass is considered lead free and it is not tested for lead content. When it is called out it is for marketing reasons, not scientific reasons. Most ceramics are lead-free as well. When a ceramic is tested and the glaze has lead levels above the scientifically determined safety level, it will be called out on that product. Here is our statement on lead in dinnerware that holds true for ceramics used for food:
Lead in Dinnerware:
All of the dinnerware we carry at Crate and Barrel has passed FDA standards.
All the dinnerware and ceramics that we sell at Crate and Barrel have been tested by a third party accredited lab for both lead and cadmium safety. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sets very stringent standards for what would pass for lead and cadmium levels. All of our dinnerware passes that or we cannot sell it.
California has greater lead and cadmium restrictions than any other state. In addition, every dinnerware or ceramic is also tested for the more stringent California Proposition 65 standards. Most of our dinnerware passes California Proposition 65 standards, but those that do not are labeled with stickers to inform our California customers of that fact.
Can Crate and Barrel guarantee a lead-free dinnerware pattern? We cannot guarantee a dinnerware pattern is 100% lead free. The only reason we cannot make this guarantee is because the test method used by the third party accredited lab is not sensitive enough to detect lead or cadmium levels under .05 parts per million.
Currently we our food-related ceramics are compliant with Prop 65.
This is great. To be clear they are talking about leach-testing standards, not XRF detectible levels of lead. However their new stuff does seem to be lead-free (based on what I have had tested in the past 6 months to a year.)
Hi, I want to share my experience here. When I first started looking for lead-free dishes at Crate & Barrel and Williams Sonoma, no one at the store or at customer service knew what I was talking about.
I can’t remember now if it was Crate & Barrel or Williams Sonoma, but I when I called their stores in California to ask if they had any Prop 65 warnings hanging in the store for any of their dishes, they did say that they had 2 warnings posted physically in the store. I no longer have my notes on this, but I believe both warnings were for glass items. maybe “Crystal glass” items?
So, I’m hearing from Tamara that their testing is leach testing, not XRF testing, but in regard to the testing they do, it seems that calling a California store will tell you if any items fail the Prop 65.
I’m also wondering if the owner of this plate could tell us what it is? It looks kind of like the Crate & Barrel “Essential” dinner plates i have. I also have the Crate & Barrel “8” Bistro Bowl” and after washing it with a brush with union fibers (which are pretty stiff), there are scratches in the glaze! This really suprised me, and I thought “i should send this to Tamara for testing!” but then i realized that the scratches may be too small to get a good reading with the XRF instrument.
Yes! In California, when you go C&B, you see prop 65 warnings right next to the product. Can you imagine choosing to buy a bowl or plate with a cancer warning on it!? There’s one right now at C&B I think it’s called Lina, it’s white with blue stripes, cute but toxic!
forgot to check “notify comments” box.
Do you happen to have done any testing on the last dish pictures, but in color? I am interested in purchasing the gray colored one but want to make sure it is lead free of course.
Hi! Have you checked any grey plates or bowls from Crate and Barrel? Thank you!
Have you tested specifically the essential dinnerware collection or the hue white collection from crate and barrel?
Can you please test the working glasses from crate and barrel? I would be more than happy to send you one, send a pick up order to a store of your choice or send a gift certificate card number to you via email so you can purchase yourself. thank you so much. You are amazing. I love your work.
Thank you so much. I have a broken leg and am in a wheelchair now and for the next 8 or 10 weeks most likely. You can follow the instructions here to send me something though:
https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
Tamara
Hello Tamara, I sent you another message earlier today about the “Essentials” Crate& Barrell dishes. This looks like it could be the “Essentials” plate – do you know what this plate was called? Thank you.
It looks like the Aspen Coupe plate
Hi Tamara,
Are the Crate and Barrel Cafeware II items dinner plates, bowls, mugs and salad plates lead and cadmium free
I really don’t know without testing. I don’t like the brand as a rule (they tend to have leaded logos and have a history of Lead in their products even if some of their newer products are lead-free.)
Relevant post: https://tamararubin.com/2020/02/list-of-stores-i-wont-shop-at-because-they-sold-things-with-lead-or-still-sell-things-with-lead/
Tamara
Hello. I also am a resident of the greater Portland area. Recently purchased at Goodwill two white ceramic Crate & Barrel serving bowls that were only marked with their name and “Made in China.” Surprised to not see, Dishwasher safe and lead-free there as well. These bowls have a slight Asian feel as their base is much narrower that the top of the bowl and it is also embossed with a floral-like or medallion (abstract) pattern which randomly overlaps on the exterior of the bowls. Do you recall ever testing this for lead? I do not know when they were released for sale. Thank you very much!
I also received the same language from Crate and Barrel, and honestly, it is very vague much to my dissapointment.
Because the FDA has already allowed lead to pass through in this country, as we see by testing! I asked about the Prop 65 from California and was told the same thing. So I do trust only the prop 65 info.
By the way, I was going to purchase floor lamps and discovered most of them have either lead solder in it, which makes it lead unsafe; and there are prop 65 warnings. I called the Prog 65 folks and said that I thought it was difficult because the warning usually doesn’t say specifically what is wrong with the product.
I was told by LAMPS PLUS that if most lamps are manufactured in China, they can never be sure of what is in the product so have to give it a prop 65 warning. That means they simply don’t know.
It’s never perfect, is it? I do though go by Prop 65 . Even though not perfect,
p.s. if anyone knows of a company that makes floor lamps (tourchierres) without any lead or other toxins, could you please share? The general warning with Prop 65 doesn’t fine the toxins, as mentioned. However I’m looking for a company that specifically makes a safe product. I was told that some companies stopped using lead solder and are now using a lead free solder. But finding them is not easy. I did find one but that didn’t explain what the rest of the metal used was. – dsl