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Alternate Title Concept:
Aptly named “Fable” pottery, selling Lead-contaminated ceramics and marketing them as Lead-free. Read more here.

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First some screenshots from Fable’s website

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For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website:

Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).

• Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
• Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
• Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
• All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
• Items that Lead Safe Mama, LLC report on are tested multiple times to confirm the results published (for each component tested).
• Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition) and The Guardian in November of 2023.

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We currently have four articles published related to Fable dishware:

1. Our initial article (below) detailed the concerns and our test results from testing several examples of their products.
2. A follow-up piece features our email exchange with the owner of Fable (an effort to help him better understand the issue as it was clear he did not read — or did not understand the content of — our initial article).
3. An article including Fable’s response to customers — (which is identical to the statement published on their website) — and some commentary from me.
4. A piece which details some other myths and BLATANT misinformation we found on Fable’s website today (12/1/2023).

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Published: November 28, 2023 — Tuesday

All the screenshots from the Fable website incorporated in this article (above and below) were taken from Fable’s website on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

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Some quotes from Fable’s website:

“Free of Lead, Cadmium, and other heavy metals”
“sustainably crafted”
“we sustainably craft our premium tableware with integrity”
“put the earth, and it’s people, first”
“undergo strict testing”
“hand-finished, organically shaped and 100% non-toxic”
“we want the world to be a better place, starting at the kitchen table”
“we aim to make a difference”
“we take a holistic view of our product”
“ensure every part of our products meets our standard of excellence”
“proudly a Certified B Corporation”
“part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact”

Most Important:
“We’re constantly working on our commitment to sustainable, ethical, and transparent practices, and we’re thrilled to be on this journey towards continuous improvement and collective action.”

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Where to start?

Summary (TLDR): Contrary to Fable’s assertions that their pottery is “Lead-free” (see screenshots with their corporate statements above):

1. Both the substrate and the glaze on several samples of Fable pottery that we tested did test positive for Lead.
2. The Lead levels found in the substrate — the base clay — of Fable pottery was not at all unexpected. Traces of Lead are commonly found in natural clay in the 20 to 60 ppm range.
3. The glazed areas tested positive for Lead at levels that are slightly above what might be considered a “trace contaminant” level — and at levels that are significantly higher than what was found in the substrate.
4. Levels found in the glaze were consistently higher than the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissions’s 90 ppm allowable limit for Lead in the glaze of newly-manufactured items intended for use by children.
5. Most companies selling pottery marketed as “Lead-free” make an effort to ensure their glazes are Lead-free (here is one example, and here’s a second example) — Fable has apparently not made this effort.
6. Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s test results of Fable pottery (and the implications) are discussed in detail below.
7. While these dishes are decidedly not Lead-free, they are generally in the range of “Lead-safe“ — and are not likely to expose the user to Lead in normal daily use (when new and when used as intended).
8. The concern is more for greenwashing, and a lack of corporate accountability; if they are letting these Lead-levels slip through their “standard of excellence” now (for dishes they claim are free of toxicants, including Lead), there’s the possibility that higher levels of Lead could slip through their insufficient screening process on future production batches.
9. This problem needs to be resolved now for Fable to maintain the level of integrity that they espouse.

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Please note, the summary above is just that — a summary. To better understand the concerns, please take the time to read the full article below (especially if you are deciding what you would like to do with the dishes you purchased from Fable — dishes you purchased when you were under the impression they were truly a “Lead-free” product).

The best place to start (for this particular article, given the scope of information included) is with a table of contents for the article, outlining the specific sections you can read as you scroll down (to make sure you don’t miss any important sections you may want to read). So here’s a table of contents for what you will find below:

• Section #1) Test results for several examples of Fable dishware (that Lead Safe Mama, LLC tested in October 2023)
• Section #2) An explanation of the test results for the specific examples of these products that Lead Safe Mama, LLC tested 
• Section #3) How is it Fable can (legally) label their products as Lead-free when they are not Lead-free?
• Section #4) The issue of greenwashing amplified by the voices of (unsuspecting) “influencers” (B-Corps, “sustainability,” and ALL of the BUZZ words!)
• Section #5) The “Made in Portugal” issue (specifically as it relates to glazed ceramics made in Portugal)
• Section #6) Are these products going to poison my family?
• Section #7) A letter to the owners of Fable: Appropriate (and inappropriate) possible “next steps” for the company. (Pro-tip: Don’t threaten to sue Lead Safe Mama, LLC for sharing replicable scientific facts about your products — it’s a bad look and your customers won’t react well to that.)
• Section #8) Some additional related reading that may be of interest to those reading this article (including a link to my documentary feature film on childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety)
• Section #9) In Conclusion 

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Section #1) Test results for several examples of Fable dishware (that Lead Safe Mama, LLC tested in October 2023)

In October of 2023, we tested several examples of Fable dishware — all purchased fairly recently by families in Canada.

Fable is known, because of their extensive and ubiquitous social media marketing, as being a “Lead-free” brand.

Families I work with (mostly families of Lead-poisoned children, but also families looking to protect their children from Lead exposure) are always looking for Lead-free alternatives for products in their home and I have gotten countless requests to test products made by the Fable brand. Given the marketing hype associated with Fable (and the significant online presence of the brand — including on social media channels), many Lead Safe Mama friends, fans and followers have been excited about the potential for these products to hold up to the manufacturer’s claims.

Unfortunately, the Lead-free claims of the Fable brand pottery are, in fact, a fable (based on the archaic meaning of the word — as seen on Dictionary dot com: A fictitious tale).

In this section of this article (Section #1,) you will see photos of three examples of Fable pottery that we tested in October 2023 using XRF technology.

• Each item was tested multiple times to confirm the results reported below.
• Each item was tested against a known Lead-free background (a Lead-free table or counter, previously tested and confirmed to be Lead-free).
• All testing was done with a freshly calibrated XRF instrument testing in “Consumer Goods Mode.”
• Consumer Goods Mode on a non-radioactive source (tube-based) XRF instrument measures the amount of Lead in parts per million (ppm) and generally reads at a shallower depth than a radioactive-source instrument designed for testing for Lead in paint.
• Instruments that accurately test consumer goods (in the field) generally range in price (new) from $35,000 to $55,000, depending on the software packages installed and the related testing capabilities of those software packages.
• Instruments for testing Lead in paint are much less expensive (in the range of $10,000 to $15,000) and are fundamentally different (they measure in milligrams of Lead per square centimeter) and are not intended for testing consumer goods (and will not give useful information if used to test consumer goods). You can read more about that at this link.

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Three Examples of Fable Pottery with XRF Test Results
a Plate, a Bowl, & a Cup

Section #1.a.) A Fable cup & XRF test results   

Lead Level Range: 
30 to 253 parts per million (ppm)
Range for Glazed Areas: 177 to 253 ppm
Range for Unglazed Clay Areas: 30 to 62 ppm

Cup Reading #1) Glazed Surface of Cup

• Lead (Pb): 215 +/- 38 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 1,105 +/- 247 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 408 +/- 78 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 22,400 +/- 800 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 37,400 +/- 1,600 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 628 +/- 57 ppm

Cup Reading #2) Unglazed Bottom of Cup 

• Lead (Pb): 46 +/- 16 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 4,800 +/- 396 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 46 +/- 23 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 628 +/- 57 ppm

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Section #1.v.) A Fable bowl & XRF test results

Lead Level Range: 
55 to 217 parts per million (ppm)
Range for Glazed Areas: 169 to 217 ppm
Range for Unglazed Clay Areas: 55 to 83 ppm

Bowl Reading #1) Glazed Surface of Bowl

• Lead (Pb): 193 +/- 24 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 1,007 +/- 161 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 327 +/- 48 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 17,600 +/- 500 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 21,600 +/- 600 ppm

Bowl Reading #2) Unglazed Bottom of Bowl 

• Lead (Pb): 69 +/- 14 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Antimony (Sb): 29 +/- 14 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 5,733 +/- 333 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 74 +/- 20 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 23 +/- 10 ppm

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Section #1.a.) A Fable plate & XRF test results

Lead Level Range: 
43 to 259 parts per million (ppm)
Range for Glazed Areas: 189 to 259 ppm
Range for Unglazed Clay Areas: 43 to 71 ppm

Plate Reading #1) Glazed Surface of Plate

• Lead (Pb): 224 +/- 35 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 17 +/- 11 (likely due to pinkish hue of this dish)
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 1,221 +/- 234 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 325 +/- 67 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 16,500 +/- 600 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 18,000 +/- 700 ppm

Plate Reading #2) Unglazed Bottom of Plate 

• Lead (Pb): 57 +/- 14 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 4,918 +/- 325 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 63 +/- 21 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 820 +/- 50 ppm

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Section #2) An explanation of the test results for the specific examples of these products that Lead Safe Mama, LLC tested 

The levels of Lead found in the examples of Fable pottery that we tested were relatively low (as compared to many other newly-manufactured examples of ceramics from modern dishware brands that do not claim to be Lead-free) — but they were not negative.

The levels of Lead found in the glaze were consistently higher than the levels of Lead found in the ceramic substrate of these three examples, clearly indicating that there is a Lead-contamination issue with Fable’s glaze that goes beyond trace contaminants that might “naturally” be found in earth used to make natural clays (finding trace contamination of clay-based products in the range of 20 to 60 ppm is common). Given the glaze for the items we tested was primarily white (or pinkish-white) the levels found are consistent with a white pigment ingredient/ component of the glaze that likely has a higher level of Lead than other components of the glaze (above a background level). This is common with white-tinted glazes, and especially with white-tinted glazes for ceramics made in Portugal (here’s another example from a different brand).

Trace Cadmium was found in the plate, which has pink-tinted glaze. Pinks and reds are often contaminated with Cadmium (or even have Cadmium as a primary intentionally-added ingredient to the glaze).

The bowl that we tested also tested positive for trace Antimony (a known carcinogen) in the ceramic substrate. If covered with a safe Lead-free glaze, that level of Antimony would not be particularly concerning — but it is also not negative.

So three toxic heavy metals were found in these dishes with testing conducted using XRF technology. While the potential human exposure risk is minimal given the levels found, it is not negative. The greater concern is the false advertising by this company, especially given the EXTREME level of greenwashing language used on their website.

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Section #3) How is it Fable can (legally?) label their products as Lead-free when they are not Lead-free?

There are several different ways to measure Lead in consumer goods, and several different limits specifically linked to the various methods of measurement. A common mistake made by (countless) dishware manufacturers is that they often conflate (confuse) one type of measurement with another. Specifically, many dishware manufacturers mistakenly believe that if their product passes the FDA testing requirements for leaching (i.e. whether or not there is extractable Lead coming off of the dish when it is new/ at the time of manufacture), that this means their product is definitively “Lead-free.” This is not actually a correlation that can be made.

Total Lead content of a ceramic substrate (or of the glaze applied to that ceramic substrate) cannot be measured with leach-testing technology, so leach-testing technology does not provide sufficient (or appropriate) data to determine if a product is Lead-free.

In order to determine if a substrate or glaze (or other coating) is Lead-free (or if it does contain Lead and, if so, quantitatively how much Lead it contains), entirely different scientific methodologies must be used (not leach-testing). These technologies include XRF technology (discussed here, the method used for results reported on this website and one of the methods also employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to determine product safety and regulatory compliance) or digestive testing (in which a substance or product is dissolved in a lab and tested using scientific instrumentation available to laboratories).

If an item tests positive for Lead using XRF technology, it is (by definition) NOT Lead-free.

• The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sets limits for Lead in items intended for use by children based on total Lead content testing (the FDA uses leach-testing).
• The CPSC commonly uses XRF technology as a screening tool to determine compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA, for short).
• In 2008, the CPSIA set a limit of 90 ppm Lead for the paint, glaze, or coating for any component of any item manufactured for use by children.
• Leachability is not relevant for this legislation — the mere presence of Lead is relevant — because it is so very toxic and if it is present it has the possibility to leach (or otherwise be an exposure source to children) in the future (even if it does not leach at the time of manufacture).

Unfortunately, dishes are not considered (by most regulatory bodies, including the CPSC) to be “items intended for use by children” (even though we all know children obviously use dishes, along with the rest of the family). Consequently, Lead levels above 90 ppm in the glaze (or above 100 ppm in the substrate) of a dishware/ tableware product is 100% legal. The only exception to this is if the item is being sold and marketed with language (or design elements) that clearly indicate the item is explicitly “intended for use by children.” (An example of this would be a ceramic tea set sold as an item for children to play with [a toy], or a baby dish sold by a vendor, with marketing language noting that it was specifically manufactured for use by babies and toddlers.)

With all this as background, the question of whether or not Fable (and other dishware manufacturers) can LEGALLY label their dishes as Lead-free when they are definitively NOT Lead-free is a question of integrity — which has not been acted on generally by courts or legislative bodies. The dishware industry, in effect, believes it can set it’s own standards for what “Lead-free” means — basically creating a novel definition of “Lead-free” to mean non-leaching even though the actual words mean something else entirely.

There are some law firms working on false advertising cases for products like this, and it’s very possible they could get a ruling of false advertising, given the Lead-content of these products — but as of this moment (11/28/2023), I do not know of anyone pursuing ceramics manufacturers for fraudulent labeling (intentional or accidental) in this area… yet.

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Section #4) The issue of “greenwashing” amplified by the voices of (unsuspecting) “influencers” (B-corps, Sustainability, and ALL of the BUZZ words!)

A subtitle for this section could be “Most ‘influencers’ have absolutely no scientific knowledge of these matters — why are you trusting their recommendations?”