BPA- and PVC-Free Kid’s Cups: Found!
April 8, 2008
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.
At some point in the line, you have to take things on faith and accept the information you’re given as accurate. That’s where I am now, ready to put my unlabeled cups into rotation once Passover begins.
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Filed under: Things I Love,Thinking Out Loud
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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7 Comments
1.
Alicia @ TheSoftLanding.com | April 8, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Wow! Thank you so much for pointing us concerned parents to a great option in kids cups! We’ve been searching the world over and have had the hardest time finding anything.
We’re going to blog you soon
Alicia
2. Chick in the Kitchen Loca&hellip | April 8, 2008 at 2:49 pm
[...] the Kitchen Locates BPA Free Kids Cups Posted on April 8, 2008 by softlanding 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 [...]
3.
Jodi | April 8, 2008 at 8:37 pm
You are such a “get it done” kind of a girl!:O)
4.
Rachel | April 9, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Dara – Take care with putting acrylic in the dishwasher. While it IS d/w safe, it tends to get streaky lines (looks like cracks) all over it. No bueno.
Hi Rachel, I have definitely had that happen with clear acrylic — yuck. But these cups are cloudy, so I’m hoping that won’t happen. I will report back if it does, and I’m still on the look-out for polypropylene. Thanks for the tip! — Dara
5.
Carrie Russell | April 16, 2008 at 10:54 am
Thanks for the heads up! Just bought these large tumblers today at Target. Is melamine a good option for plates and bowls?? Target has a ton of summer plates that are melamine. Some are WAY cute. Square, and not babyish but great for kids. Would love to know your take on melamine.
Hi Carrie, from my reading melamine is fine in the dishwasher but don’t microwave it. There’s a lot less information out there on melamine than plastic! Sorry I could not be of more help. — Dara
6.
Lori | April 24, 2008 at 8:32 am
I have some acrylic glasses that I purchased from Target several years ago. They, too, do not have the recycling number and I don’t know if they are safe or not. They are made by Precidio. Any ideas? Are you finding that most acrylic (clear, glass-like) has BPA?
I’m sorry, but I really don’t know the answer. I have found very little information online about whether acrylic in general is made with BPA or not — I couldn’t find a definitive source in my own searching. You might want to contact Predicio — they have a very user-friendly Web site at and ask them directly. — Dara
7.
mel d from b.c. | June 25, 2008 at 2:10 pm
BPA in canned foods.
http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/03/bpa-questions-answered.htm
Just thought i would pass along this blog with lots of Q & A’s on bispenols. I found the part about canned foods especially disturbing. I don’t know about you, but I often give my little ones canned peaches etc. (they are easier to chew, don’t brown).
Just to give you the highlights…ALL CANNED FOODS are lined with plastic liners (otherwise the cans would rust etc.). There are one or two exceptions but i won’t get into that. And of course that plastic contains BPA because the alternative would be too expensive. And we all know that BPA should not be heated, but guess what happens when they process the cans. Thats right! BPA leaches into the food.
And if we are to believe this article, you get a lot more BPA from canned foods, then you ever would from polycarbonate bottles. Interesting huh? When all this BPA fuss started to come to the media’s attention recently, only a few of the stories even mentioned the plastic liners on canned foods.
Does this mean I have to go back to canning my own fruits in mason jars, just like my grandma did?
Just thought I would give all those mommies out there one more thing to think about .
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