Calamityware (2015) mug: 28 ppm Lead (safe by all standards) + 12,200 ppm Cobalt [a possible human carcinogen, per CDC] in the blue decorations. Click to read more.

ByTamara Posted: Updated:
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XRF test results below are for the exact item pictured.
(It arrived broken – shipped to me by a reader)

Published: Friday, February 4 – 2022

WARNING: This post contains FOUL LANGUAGE! [If you have a problem with that, stop reading here.]

First… three images for you to check out:

Image #1 – a screenshot from the CDC’s website:

Two screenshots from the Calamityware FAQ section, (apparently taking a preemptive hit on my work in anticipation of me testing their products! ;-))

Calamityware Screenshot #1

Calamityware Screenshot #2

NOTE: I actually sort of liked this company — until a reader brought this dick-move of theirs (the content of the above screenshots from their website) to my attention (excuse my “French”).

Below is a quick assessment (since I really don’t have a lot of time to waste on this utter B.S.)

  1. The blue decorative elements on Calamityware dishes contain a very high level of Cobalt (see exact readings below), which is listed as a possible human carcinogen (the image from the CDC website above is also a link to that page of their website, if you want to read more.)
  2. Screenshot #1 above (from the Calamityware website FAQ section) states that their porcelain items contain no dangerous levels of Lead or Cadmium in the glazes. Based on testing I have done of several examples of their products, that much is indeed true. Levels of Lead found were within safe range (under 90 ppm Lead for the paint / glaze or coating and under 100 ppm Lead for the substrate), and no Cadmium was found.
    • On another version of their page I also found this language (screenshot below): “Do I need to worry about heavy metals? (Prop 65) No. These glazes are specially formulated to be free of cadmium, lead, and other potential troublemakers. The workshops that make stuff for us use lead-free clay and glazes, their pigments are lead free, and everything is fired at very high in-glaze temperatures as an extra precaution.” Ummm. Cobalt is a potential troublemaker, guys – so you may want to re-phrase that.
  3. Screenshot #2 above (also from the Calamityware website FAQ section) is really a super-assholic statement about XRF testing, that they absolutely did not need to include on their website —AND which makes them look like ignorant jerks – totally dismissive of both SCIENCE and potential concerns of the Calamityware customers! They could have chosen to NOT be DICKS, and to leave out that idiotic paragraph entirely… but [and I bet this is a man – likely a man between 30 and 40 years old – who wrote published this FAQ statement for them (sorry about the gender-bias-stereotyping — but please prove me wrong*)] they chose to be dicks, so I felt it was super-important to highlight this paragraph and all that is wrong with it. *In reading this post, my 19-year-old son was surprised by my apparent flagrant gender bias in writing this – but I explained to him that this was important to point out, in context — with the context being that mostly women buy china and mostly women have concerns for toxicants like Lead found in china (so the Calamityware customer base – and specifically their customer base with this concern, who might be reading this FAQ statement – is likely mostly women) and within that context their “mansplaining” is obvious, strident, and condescending — and not respectful of their customer base, nor is it respectful of their customer’s concerns. As a result, the likelihood that a woman would have written dismissive, non-science-based comments about the concern for Lead in dishware is next-to-nil! Here’s the comment in question (from the screenshot above):
    • “Could an XRF gun reveal lead? Doubtful. But lead is a naturally occurring mineral so some low levels could show up if you blast your plate with a X-ray fluorescence gadget. It would depend upon the calibration and sensitivity of your gun. Industry standards consider lead free to be less than 100 parts per million which is a level so small that it’s difficult to detect. We meet these levels. But if you are a fanatic and want zero parts per million, you might be disappointed. That’s because lead and cadmium are everywhere on our planet and trace contamination from air and water is inescapable.” Below is a point by point dissection of this cavalier/smug, ignorant bullshit.

Dissection of the B.S. from their FAQ section (above):

  • “Could an XRF gun reveal lead?” – 100% absolutely yes, you guys are just plain wrong here… because SCIENCE and because Calamityware products do test positive for Lead.
  • “Doubtful.” – NERP. See above (and see full XRF test results below).
  • “But lead is a naturally occurring mineral so some low levels could show up if you blast your plate with a X-ray fluorescence gadget.” – an XRF Instrument is not a “gadget”; it is a phenomenally expensive, highly-precise, accurate scientific instrument used by the United States Consumer Product Commission to screen consumer goods for toxic heavy metals like Lead, Cadmium, and COBALT. [And you don’t need to “blast” a plate for the heavy metals to show up; they show up immediately with a quick, non-destructive test that can be done in the field or in a lab. Lastly, Lead is NOT “naturally occurring” in all things! I test consumer goods (including ceramics and glass / dishes and mugs) that are 100% Lead-free all.the.time.
  • “It would depend upon the calibration and sensitivity of your gun.”  – Um…just…“No”; an XRF Instrument specifically designed to test for metals in consumer goods [an instrument which BTW is not a “gun”, and is the only instrument appropriate for testing ceramics in this way] – like a Niton XL3T with “Consumer Goods” mode software installed – picks up the heavy metals in these Calamityware porcelain products rather immediately (in mere seconds), repeatably, and with no difficulty or complexity.
  • “Industry standards consider lead free to be less than 100 parts per million which is a level so small that it’s difficult to detect.” – I haven’t seen any industry document that set that standard, so I don’t have any confirmation that this statement is any way true. I think there might more likely be “industry consensus” to try to dupe customers into believing things are Lead-free by calling them Lead-free if they fall under 100 ppm Lead, but that is not any legitimate standard. Lead-free means FREE OF LEAD (without LEAD), and so things are only LEAD-FREE if they HAVE NO LEAD! Calamityware mugs are definitely not “Lead-free”; they consistently test positive for Lead.
  • “We meet these levels.” – You (Calamityware) meet the B.S. self-described “industry standard” that is not science-based, and is essentially an attempt to dupe consumers into believing something that is not true? GOOD FOR YOU!
  • “But if you are a fanatic and want zero parts per million, you might be disappointed.” – I am not “a fanatic”. I am a mother of acutely-Lead-poisoned children; a mother who wants to hold companies accountable for any LIES and misstatements of fact that they publish on their company websites, or otherwise share with customers.
    • Government agencies agree that there is no safe level of Lead exposure for humans.
    • If you (a consumer) are personally Lead-poisoned, or if you have children with Lead-poisoning it is in NO WAY “fanatical” to want and expect pottery and dishware marketed and sold as “LEAD-FREE” —which Calamityware used to claim to be (they were initially specifically marketed as “Lead-free”, but are no longer making that claim)— to be 100% FREE of LEAD. It is also not in any way fanatical to choose not to purchase products that do not meet the criteria of being truly Lead-free.
    • Please do understand that my children have PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE (serious learning and cognitive impacts, and other disabilities, as well as a host of physical health impairments) due to Lead-poisoning. Choosing to live a LEAD-FREE life in the space of what I deal with every day (and what other parents in the same situation live with every day) is not “fanatical” and Calamityware is being cavalier, callous, and dismissive of the concerns of their potential customers with this statement. Again – what ASSHOLES.!
  • “That’s because lead and cadmium are everywhere on our planet and trace contamination from air and water is inescapable.” – NOPE – 100% not true. If that were true, I might have found trace Cadmium in the Calamityware mugs, which I did not. Please look through the THOUSANDS of posts here on the Lead Safe Mama, LLC website – where you find HUNDREDS of examples of products that are 100% free of ANY TRACE of  LEAD or CADMIUM (and Cobalt-free too!) So… this is just more Science-denying on behalf of Calamityware. So very disappointing. 

In conclusion:

  • I used to like this company (and their cute/clever designs, and the quality of their products) a LOT — until they decided to be science-denying assholes, in an effort to protect their ass from future criticism!
  • I loved the fact that they had a Lead-safe alternative to Blue Willow ware [which is normally very toxic, and should not be considered safe for food-use purposes].
  • I also loved their art – and how playfully irreverent, fun, and creative it was.
  • Their ceramics are safe by most standards – although the use of very high levels of Cobalt in the exterior glaze is not a sustainable option for the planet nor humans (but will not likely cause harm to the end user, because it is on the exterior decorative elements of a high-fire piece – and the colors of their glazes to not appear to wear).
  • I had planned on recommending these mugs (since they are, in fact – “Lead-safe“), but certainly will not do so, as a result of the mansplaining, anti-science bullshit rhetoric in their FAQ section.
  • I think the company seriously should consider re-working the language on their website so it is not so science-denying and offensive.
  • I think the company should also seriously consider sensitivity training on disabilities (including disabilities due to Lead-poisoning) and, within that context, how their public statements might be extremely offensive to the exact customer base that they are attempting to market to (people looking for fun, decorative durable safer choices in dishware.)

XRF Test Results for the Calamityware porcelain coffee mug (2015) pictured.

Reading #1, on white glazed area of cup
60-second reading

  • Lead (Pb): 28 +/- 4 ppm
  • Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
  • Mercury (Hg): non-detect
  • Bromine (Br): non-detect
  • Chromium (Cr): non-detect
  • Iron (Fe): 2,575 +/- 74 ppm
  • Copper (Cu): 15 +/- 9 ppm
  • Zinc (Zn): 9 +/- 4 ppm
  • Tin (Sn): 10 +/- 3 ppm
  • Barium (Ba): 184 +/- 12 ppm
  • Bismuth (Bi): 20 +/- 3 ppm
  • No other metals detected in consumer goods mode.

Reading #2, on dark blue glazed area of cup

  • Lead (Pb): 16 +/- 7 ppm
  • Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
  • Mercury (Hg): non-detect
  • Bromine (Br): non-detect
  • Chromium (Cr): non-detect
  • Iron (Fe): 2,391 +/- 141 ppm
  • Cobalt (Co): 12,200 +/- 300 ppm
  • Copper (Cu): 34 +/- 20 ppm
  • Zinc (Zn): 6,390 +/- 158 ppm
  • Zirconium (Zr): 390 +/- 13 ppm
  • Tin (Sn): 16 +/- 7 ppm
  • Barium (Ba): 150 +/- 26 ppm
  • No other metals detected in consumer goods mode.

For those new to this website:

Tamara Rubin is a Federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. Tamara’s sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in August of 2005. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. Tamara uses XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals), including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony and Arsenic. All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate and replicable. Items are tested multiple times to confirm the test results for each component tested. Please click through to this link to learn more about the testing methodology used for the test results discussed and reported on this website.

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