When tested with an XRF instrument this “Here comes Santa Claus” Christmas dish (“Made in China” and purchased at World Market in November of 2019 for $5.99) had the following readings:
XRF test focused on red of Santa’s hat:
- Lead (Pb): 1,395 +/- 70 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 732 +/- 35 ppm
- Selenium (Se): 540 +/- 37 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 2,478 +/- 136 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 102 +/- 44 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,389 +/- 220 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 225 +/- 29 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,358 +/- 114 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 10,400 +/- 500 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 1,853 +/- 64 ppm
XRF test focused on white background of dish:
- Lead (Pb): 77 +/- 17 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 713 +/- 60 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,942 +/- 225 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 239 +/- 24 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 161 +/- 32 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 486 +/- 58 ppm
- Silver (Ag): 11 +/- 6 ppm
XRF test focused on peach of Santa’s face:
- Lead (Pb): 1,705 +/- 72 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 60 +/- 11 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 54 +/- 18 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 3,372 +/- 162 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,538 +/- 222 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 153 +/- 26 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 3,433 +/- 190 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 15,800 +/- 700 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 2,257 +/- 75 ppm
To see more Christmas items I have tested, click here.
To see more items from Cost Plus / World Market that I have tested, click here.
The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe in an item that is manufactured today and intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze or coating. The sick irony is that in America today – specifically in November of 2019 – a dish with a picture of Santa and the words “Here Comes Santa Claus” is not considered to be an item intended for use by children and therefore is exempt from that regulatory standard. This is a regulatory loophole where only dishes marketed and sold (and packaged) as children’s dishes are required to meet the above referenced standard (which is the standard that was set by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008)
This is simply not okay Cost Plus / World Market. Time to make some changes, eh? I’m going to leave this up to my readers to start calling in and complaining – advocating for a corporate-wide policy change across all World Market branded glazed ceramic products.
To my readers – as always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Please also let me know if you hear back from World Market when you bring this to their attention.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
How can we close the loophole that allows this product to be “not for children”?
Hi Sheryl!
I will see if Carissa knows a contact who we can make an official complaint to (I believe she knows some people over at World Market Corporate HQ). Thanks for commenting!
Tamara
They’re also selling mugs of the same design: https://www.worldmarket.com/product/retro+santa+merry+christmas+mugs+set+of+4.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search
Hmmm – so “retro” must mean “includes Lead” – lol!
Tamara
Wow I am so glad I found this blog. I just purchased 3 of the Cost Plus “Here Comes Santa” vintage style mugs for my 3 children! I will be returning them today and complaining. It is really shocking. How is this ok?? Thanks for your work.