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 four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been conducting XRF testing (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 reports on are tested multiple times to confirm the results published (for each component tested).
- Recent notable press… There has been too much to mention already in 2024! Please check out our press page to see some of the amazing coverage of our work so far this year!
With “Stanley Cups” in the news, here are some of our articles related to that popular topic:
- Our original “Stanley Cup” article (including videos showing two different types of testing)
- An article specifically about Lead-contaminated sealing dots on insulated Stainless Steel products
- An article with testing for Yeti products
- Articles with testing for Corkcicle products
- Two articles related to Crocodile Creek products
- A video showing how to use reactive agent home test kits using a Lead-contaminated insulated stainless steel Zak Designs brand product as a testing example
- Our overview article listing many of the water bottles we have tested (and whether or not they have been positive for Lead)
- Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s preferred water bottle brands (which are consistently Lead-free)
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Advertising and affiliate income help us cover the costs of the work we do here (independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy). We have published this article without advertisements. We have also removed ads from most of our more widely-read articles to make them easier for you to read. In addition to supporting this work by starting any shopping you might be doing with clicks on our affiliate links, if you would like to support our independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy work by making a contribution (which will also help us keep our more widely-read articles ad-free), click here. Thank you!
Published: January 6, 2024
The graphic below (scroll down) has a response that Stanley sent to a Lead Safe Mama community member who inquired about Stanley’s use of Lead in their insulated Stainless Steel products (including the popular 40 ounce “Stanley Cup”). In this short response, they admit that they are aware they use a Leaded pellet to seal the vacuum (and create the insulative properties of these products).
What Stanley neglected to state (and what they, in fact, downplay with this response), is that the “pellet” they melt to create the “sealing dot” for the vacuum seal of these product is not just made with “some Lead” but appears to be made with an alloy that contains between 400,000 to 600,000 ppm Lead. (You can see the testing demonstrating this in the videos embedded at the top of our original article about this product linked here.)
The amount of Lead we found (with independent scientific testing) in these insulated Stainless Steel Stanley-brand products is a standard alloy for Lead solder (typically 60% Lead and 40% other metals), however the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) states that any component of any product with a SUBSTRATE (underlying material) that tests positive for levels higher than 100 ppm Lead makes that product illegal (as an item intended for use by children). While this regulatory standard (this total-content limit for Lead in consumer goods) does not apply to the 40 oz “Stanley Cup” (as it is not an item intended for us by children), this law DOES apply to any insulated Stainless Steel children’s products made by Stanley.
Additionally, Stanley’s statement that the Leaded component is “completely enclosed by a stainless-steel cover, making it inaccessible to consumers” is a false statement. At least several dozen Lead Safe Mama community members have reported (since 2023) that the “stainless-steel cover” has come off with normal use of the product (using the product as intended, not abusing the product or using it in unexpected ways). When the cover comes off, it creates a significant potential Lead exposure risk to the user, making the product illegal if the intended user of the product is children.
As a result, we expect that the Consumer Product Safety Commission will likely agree that Stanley’s insulated Stainless Steel children’s products (which are made with the same construction method and have the same failure mode as their adult products) contain an unsafe level of Lead and are a violation of the CPSIA. Given this information, Lead Safe Mama, LLC will be submitting a violation report to the CPSC this weekend regarding the unsafe (and illegal) levels of Lead in Stanley’s insulated Stainless Steel children’s products.
The following Lead Safe Mama, LLC initiated recalls support this concern:
If you own an insulated Stainless Steel Stanley-brand product and the bottom disc has come off (see the image at the top of the page with arrows that point to the bottom disc, and see the other articles linked above for more examples of this issue), you should stop using this product, call the company, and ask for a refund (then set the product aside, away from children’s reach until the CPSC has a chance to respond). Additionally, we would appreciate if you would comment on this article (especially if the product you own is a Stanley children’s product) and we may follow up with you to request more information that we can include in the CPSC violation report we are filing.
- There is no safe level of Lead exposure to humans (and especially to children).
- It just takes a microscopic (literally invisible) amount of Lead to poison a human being.
- Fundamentally, as HydroFlask has demonstrated for nearly a decade, it is not required to use Lead for the application used in these insulated Stainless Steel products.
- The fact that it is an “industry standard” does not make the use of Lead acceptable, nor does it make it always legal (in the case of children’s products).
- Alternative Lead-free materials have been identified by the industry, are readily available, and work well.
- As consumers, we must demand that companies do better and stop using ANY Lead in ANY products used for food or beverage consumption or storage.
- This is not rocket science, it is very simple and easily achievable.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing this with anyone you know who may own one of these Stanley products, especially if they let their children use these products (or if they own the children’s version of the Stanley products).
Tamara Elise Rubin
Owner
Lead Safe Mama, LLC
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on a Lead Safe Mama, LLC affiliate link, we may receive a percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.
Stanley’s response, followed by some additional images of their advertising for their children’s products:
~ End ~
My son’s pellet has fallen off of his Stanley. I reached out about a replacement this was their response:
Please rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with you or the contents of your container. Every Stanley product meets all U.S. regulatory requirements, including California’s Proposition 65, which requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about heavy metal and chemical exposure.
We seal our vacuum insulated stainless steel products with an industry-standard pellet that includes some lead. The pellet is completely enclosed by a stainless-steel cover, making it inaccessible to consumers.
Really?!? That’s the first time I’ve ever heard them not just replace a tumbler! They have a lifetime guarantee, if the bottom falls off they should replace it.
I do not think they replace or warranty anything unless you buy it from them. I thought my cup at academy and the handle started falling off about 4 months in and bc I didn’t have a receipt, they would not help me. Who keeps receipts that long?
I have a Stanley, I love it. My kids always steal sips of mine but use yeti water bottles. My son said that some girls at his middle school have my same Stanley that they use.
My sealing dot is still attached.
Thanks for sharing:)
We have three of these cups, all of which are used by my teenage daughters:(
We have 4 of these bottles – each of my children have one and I have one. With lots of use there haven’t been any issues with the pellet so far.
Any info on the Stanley products that ARE marketed to children? The flowsteady big bear bottle is clearly intended and marketed for children, even comes with interchangable decorative disks for the cap. The product packaging and website also indicate its use for hot beverages.
I have a Stanley and so does my daughter. I bought my son a kids Stanley as well! Is it safe to use unless that falls off?
My daughter has one of these as well… Also wondering if they are safe to use if the pellet has not come off? So disappointing! Thank you for sharing this info.
Yep. I have a Stanley where that button has come off. I had no idea. It’s been off for probably a year now.
I have a Stanley. I love it but this is concerning, especially since I’m pregnant. Thank you for educating us all on the safety is Stanley products.
So what is the conclusion. Both my granddaughters have a large stanley with the handle. Are they safe or not??
They’re safe as long as the seal on the bottom is intact. If it comes off, it’s garbage and needs to be replaced. There is no lead elsewhere in these tumblers.
I am so disappointed in Stanley! Especially because it’s become so popular among kids, and I recently bought my children the 30 oz. Ice flow and the 30 oz. Quencher. I feel like the company was being deceitful by finding loopholes in the laws, knowing full well that children use their products and never making consumers aware they use lead and that the product could be dangerous if the button falls off. I hope they recall all of their products and are held accountable for their negligence! Shame on Stanley!
This is concerning. I’ll be reaching out to the company for a refund. I purchased my 40 oz shortly after Christmas and never removed the bottom sticker. After reading this article, I removed the sticker which covered the button and found a small ring of metallic like residue on the sticker exactly where the sticker was touching the button. I don’t have a lead test kit on hand, but this article definitely has me thinking it could be lead. You know, If they are using lead to vacuum seal it’s hard to believe that there wouldn’t be any on the surface of the product. And my 3 year old son loves to sneak sips out of my cup. Scary. Thank you for the information!
I used a lead swab test on the INSIDE of my 40 oz Stanley cup this evening and it tested POSITIVE. Also note that the bottom tab is still intact.
It sounds like you may have used the fraudulent swabs / knock-off products being sold directly from China – like these (they cannot be used to test consumer goods for anything): https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/dont-panic-these-lead-test-kits-do-not-work-for-testing-consumer-goods-you-might-as-well-tear-up-your-money-and-throw-it-in-the-trash/
I have purchased multiple of the tumblers advertised towards children and FOUR of them have had the stainless steel disc fall off. I’ve reached out to the company but no word yet. Horribly disappointed!
could you please send me links to (and pictures of) these items? I am working on my violation report for this still and would love to include those. Photos of the bottom with the cap off and the whole item from the side view – my email is TamaraRubin@mac.com
So glad I ran across this article today. I just received my replacement tumbler today. My son brought home his tumbler last week and I noticed that the cap was off. I contacted them and they sent me a replacement. Now I’m nervous since I was still washing the tumbler in the dishwasher with all my other dishes.
Hello,
The disc on mine fell off a couple month ago. I had no idea how dangerous this was. I was the cup daily including over that area and I’m wondering if that could cause the lead to get on other areas of the cup and ingested?! I’ve been having some unexplained medical issues and am wondering if these could be related. I reached out to my doctor. Have you heard of anyone getting actual lead poisoning from this situation? Thank you for your article.
What about Stanleys manufactured prior to 2023?
Same
Hi Tamara
Do you know of any independent labs or scientists doing actual work to discern problems related to stainless steel bottles and tumblers??
Thanks
Please read this article: https://tamararubin.com/2022/08/why-do-some-stainless-steel-cookware-items-have-a-prop-65-warning-isnt-stainless-steel-non-toxic/
I have had my Stanley tumbler for 2 years and I have never ran into a problem with it.
Lead safe mama can you please test the Frank Green drinking bottle? It’s the one of the most if not the most trending bottle in Australia, and is stainless steel with a ceramic coated interior, I ordered one online thinking it wouldn’t have a glaze inside but I just opened it and the ceramic inside the bottle is a grey shiny ceramic like glaze – so now I’m concerned it could have lead!