Chick in the Kitchen Locates BPA Free Kids Cups
April 8, 2008 by Alicia
Filed under Kids Cups, Dishes and Utensils
Dara of the Chick in the Kitchen has been on the same quest we have to find BPA free kids cups. This has not been an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, we’re still short on options and will continue to keep in the hunt.
It is really amazing to me how much work it has been to find kids’ cups that are plastic, but not plastic made with bisphenol A (BPA) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). (See “An Inconsistent Mom Goes BPA-Free“)
I did find a set of cups in Target (the small tumblers in this set) that looked like they were probably polypropylene (cloudy, hard plastic, listed as dishwasher-safe), but they weren’t labeled with a recycling number or any material information. Customer service in the Mt. Kisco store was unable to help me. I bought them anyway, thinking I’d try to track down the manufacturing information from home, and that I’d just return them if I couldn’t find it. I called Target’s main customer service number, and they had no additional information. But, surprisingly, the rep offered to give me the name of the manufacturer. Even more shocking, it’s an American company — U.S. Acrylic in Illinois. (I figured I’d be attempting to contact China.)
I put in a call to U.S. Acrylic and got a response only a few hours later. The cups are acrylic, but are BPA- and PVC-free, according to the company. For whatever reason, Target elected not to include a recycling number or material information on the mold the cups were made from.
Dara did a fantastic job of stepping up to the challenge and following the process all the way through until she found an answer. You’re inspiring to us, Dara!
Here are a couple of other options for older kids:
- IKEA Kids Rainbow Cups and Utensils (thanks to Safe Mama for this info)
- Stackable Steady Cup by Steady Co. – these are hard to find in the US, but we did see them at One Step Ahead
- FUNtainer by Thermos
- Nuby Wash or Toss 10oz Cups – they can be found here, and can be used without the sippy lid
- Kid Kanteen 18oz Water Bottle by Klean Kanteen
- Think Sport Stainless Steel 12oz Water Bottle – available at The Soft Landing
- SIGG Kids Water Bottle
- Sip-a-Cups and 12oz Tumblers by Arrow Plastics – we found them at Walmart (look for the #5)
- Wave Small and Large Cups by Packerware – we found these at Walmart too (look for the #5)
- Many of the plastic souvenir cups you get from restaurants (such as the Rainforest Cafe) are made from polypropylene (you can see an example at WNA, Inc., a souvenir cup printing company); just remember to check for the #5 recycling symbol
We love the rainbow Ikea set. The bowls are a great size for little kids, it’d be perfect if they had suction, but all in all, a great set, and the colors are bright and fun.
I am wondering what parts to the playtex sippy cups are not safe? Is it valve, cup, top, or all? Just hoping to continue to use the cup open if at all safe and free of bpa. thanks.
I just purchased 2 SIGG cup/drink bottles for my sons. I don’t see them anywhere on your lists and was wondering if you had any info on them. Obviously the bottle itself is great, but I am curious about the drink spoout.
I am also curious about Playtex Insulated Straw Cups. It has a #5 on the bottom, but what about the straw?
I also have Munchkin Insulated Straw Cups. Any word on those? They are not labeled at all.
Thanks for all your research!!!!
Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to change out all of our plastic for months now – it’s been so hard! I’m almost done though
I’ve even switched out our plastic storage containers for glass! Pyrex makes good sizes (FYI) – found them at Target. I had a question though – do we no want to wash ANY of our “plastic” in the dishwasher? Even if it is BPA safe? I’m still not sure how that all plays out.
Also, to all the readers – take a look at your baby food containers too! I just went to open some food from Gerber Organics (for my 7 month old) and saw the #7 on the bottom of the container! I was so mad! I threw it away…..
Thanks for all your work! I love this web site!
Beth
i just purchased a Klean Kanteen for my son and we love it! Although…. I do wonder about the spout. It came with an Avent spout. So I have emailed Avent to try to find out if it is BPA free. I haven’t heard back yet.
Anyone else have any info???
Beth,
Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment on our research! From what we can tell, it’s fine to wash the BPA free dishes in the dishwasher on the top rack. This is mostly due to the fact that high heat can damage polypropylene (which is a softer plastic).
Take a look at our post on Gerber containers here. You’ll be surprised to know that not all #7 plastics are toxic, and Gerber happens to use the non-toxic #7 for their plastic baby food containers.
Alicia
Taraden,
We love our Klean Kanteen sippy too! Good news – we’ve confirmed that the Avent spout is BPA free.
Alicia
How can you tell which #7 plastics are safe and which are not? I recently recycled our Steady Cup by Steady Co. because it had a #7 on the bottom but then saw you list it as a “safe” cup in your post. Their website didn’t say anything about being BPA-free. Its all so confusing. We have been very happy with our Klean Kanteen and Sigg bottles so we’ll stick with those for now. Your website has been so helpful. Thanks for all your hard work.
Melanie,
You really can’t tell unless you contact the company directly to find out what type of #7 plastic a particular item is.
We spoke with Steady Co. ourselves, and they told us that they are very conscientious about using BPA free plastics in their products. I will say that their website used to list them as BPA free, and now it doesn’t.
We’ll make a follow-up phone call to them this week to see what the situation is currently.
Alicia
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Go for the SIGG, Klean Kanteen has terrible customer service and they taste metallic. Both are safe though!
Bella’s Mum,
I’m surprised to hear that you had trouble with Klean Kanteen’s customer service. We’ve been working with them for a long time and have never had so much as one complaint. Klean Kanteen is still one of our long-term favorites.
Alicia
Hi! I contact playtex and they send me a letter with all their bpa free cups, so yesterdady I purchased a coolster, that is in the list as bpa free, and my kids love it, but I want to make sure if this kind of plastic
( prolypropylene) is safe for children. Please let me know, I am also getting foggos for them.
Besides SIGGs (which we carry), the Crocodile Creek tumblers are also completely safe and very cute too.
Crocodile Creek is a great company doing a lot to create safe kids products.
Do the IKEA rainbow plates still considered safe if the plastic is scored from knife usage? Or if the plate begins to show a white-colored surface wear?
Tracy
Tracy,
That’s a great question. Products made from polypropylene, such as IKEA’s rainbow plates, are made without bisphenol-a (BPA). So even if the plates are scratched and scored, there is no BPA inside the plate to leach out.
Alicia
I had the same concern as Tracy. Our Ikea plates continue to have a white substance on them after washing. I try to take this off but it refuses to go away! I was goign to recycle them today. I am glad to know they are PP and not BPA, but I am still concerned about the white stuff. Nicole
I was wondering why adults shoudn’t worry about BPA in our cups and such. I have been looking diligently for alternatives to glass cups for my four boys and am having a difficult time finding cups that fit 20 ounces or so. I am hoping to find a BPA free line that the whole family can use. Any suggestion???
I thought that arcylic is number 3 plastic. Does anyone know arycylic is safe?
how about stainless steel malt cups? Aluminum?
Re: Ikea plastic plates and white marks…I’ve found that these white marks appear after using the plates in the microwave. I have other food containers that have these white marks.
I have read many times about the possible risk of microwaving food in plastic containers so I’ve stopped doing so.
Hi Violet,
We’ve noticed the same thing with our dishes and have begun researching it. Most IKEA-style dishes are made from polypropylene, which seems to be a fairly heat durable plastic. But after repeated dishwashing, exposure to detergents and microwaving, they will begin to warp and show some wear.
While BPA-free polypropylene obviously won’t be leaching any hormone disrupting chemicals, we still aren’t sure what kind of impact worn-out plastic dishes will have on our food. It takes quite a bit of heat and/or abrasive detergents to cause a break down in the plastic molecules themselves. So at this point in our research we’re not convinced that the white marks or warping are truly a health concern.
As always, we’ll continue to study and notify our readers of updates in our learning.
Alicia
Hi,
Must say: Fantastic info. This whole BPA business really scared our family. It’s good to know their exist websites that advise and warn people of this. My family and I have been enjoying our Klean Kanteens for a while now.
As for any “Metallic” tastes, I would suggest trying to boil water in the Klean Kanteens a couple of times. Pretty much all stainless steel water bottles have a small lingering “taste”.
Keep in mind though, don’t boil the water in a Klean Kanteen with the polypropylene cap (that’ll melt), metal caps are okay but like the rest of the bottle, they get really hot! Careful.
Cheers,
N4D
The white stains on the cups from Ikea are probably hard water stains. Basically, when the heat from the dishwasher and the minerals naturally found in your tap water interact they leave a white mark on plastic and some glass. My parents have very hard water and all of their drinking glasses have white stains on them from being washed in the dishwasher. If you hand wash them they won’t get the marks. I belive my mom said you can try soaking the glasses in a vinegar solution and it helps to break down the mineral build up.
There is a big selection of BPA free glasses on this website. They have alot of different cups, but this page has just the ones without BPA
http://www.kidsmartliving.com/bpa-free-glasses….