Purple Satin Chinese Nesting Zippered Purse Purchased in San Francisco’s China Town – 2018: Lead Free

Published: June 6, 2019

This purse came with a set of 7 purses, each incrementally smaller and nested inside each other. It was purchased in 2018 at one of the gift shops ubiquitous in San Francisco’s China Town. It does not have a label or maker’s mark. 

When tested with an XRF instrument this purse had the following readings:

Purple Zipper:

• Zinc (Zn): 949,900 +/- 13,000 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 42,700 +/- 3,500 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 4,223 +/- 1,897 ppm

Main Fabric Body of Purse:

• Bromine (Br): 5 +/- 3 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 581 +/- 27 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 112 +/- 31 ppm

Given the nature of these things (mass manufactured, not labeled, cheaply made, made in China) I wouldn’t necessarily have confidence that these types of items would be lead-free across the board. I would expect the fabric to be lead free in modern items like this but the zippers, snaps or other hardware could possibly vary significantly from example to example.

To see more purses I have tested, click here (you can also click on the keywords – like “coin purse” – at the top of the post for other specific sub-categories of items I have tested.)

Tests were done using a Niton XRF instrument in “Consumer Goods” mode for a minimum of 30 seconds each. Results are replicable and science-based.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama