Reusable water bottles and cups, seems to be in hot water. Just a few weeks ago, people were lining up to buy the giant collectible Stanley cups, but since then there's been a U-turn. Videos of Stanley cup owners testing theirs for lead with at-home kits have raised alarms. Some of those tests allegedly returned positive results, though not all, and such kits can be unreliable. But Stanley responded with a statement saying it uses “some lead" in the manufacturing process:
“Our manufacturing process currently employs the use of an industry-standard pellet to seal the vacuum insulation at the base of our products; the sealing material includes some lead. Once sealed, this area is covered with a durable stainless steel layer, making it inaccessible to consumers. Rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the consumer nor the contents of the product. In the rare occurrence the base cap of a product comes off due to ordinary use and exposes this seal, it is eligible for our Lifetime Warranty.”
Just how common is this industry standard? We spoke with several popular reusable bottle companies—and outside experts—to see how prevalent the practice is to get more answers.
Stanley uses the same manufacturing process for all its vacuum-sealed bottles, including the popular Stanley Quencher tumbler. Vacuum-sealed vessels usually have two layers (which is why they're occasionally called double-walled insulated bottles). In between those two layers is dead space designed to minimize heat or cold transfer from the inner layer to the outer layer. This is what helps to keep your drink hot or cold for a long time.
Reusable water bottles and cups, seems to be in hot water. Just a few weeks ago, people were lining up to buy the giant collectible Stanley cups, but since then there's been a U-turn. Videos of Stanley cup owners testing theirs for lead with at-home kits have raised alarms. Some of those tests allegedly returned positive results, though not all, and such kits can be unreliable. But Stanley responded with a statement saying it uses “some lead" in the manufacturing process:
“Our manufacturing process currently employs the use of an industry-standard pellet to seal the vacuum insulation at the base of our products; the sealing material includes some lead. Once sealed, this area is covered with a durable stainless steel layer, making it inaccessible to consumers. Rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the consumer nor the contents of the product. In the rare occurrence the base cap of a product comes off due to ordinary use and exposes this seal, it is eligible for our Lifetime Warranty.”
Just how common is this industry standard? We spoke with several popular reusable bottle companies—and outside experts—to see how prevalent the practice is to get more answers.
Stanley uses the same manufacturing process for all its vacuum-sealed bottles, including the popular Stanley Quencher tumbler. Vacuum-sealed vessels usually have two layers (which is why they're occasionally called double-walled insulated bottles). In between those two layers is dead space designed to minimize heat or cold transfer from the inner layer to the outer layer. This is what helps to keep your drink hot or cold for a long time.
