bombay company teapot

[Robyncz]

I just bought a really cool teapot from Bombay Company and I'm trying to decide whether I think it's safe or not. I didn't even think about it in the store, but when I got home and saw the "made in China" sticker, I started to wonder. It's clearly meant to be used as a teapot (as opposed to being simply a display piece), as it has a removable steel infuser inside it.

Normally I would just call Bombay company headquarters and ask, but there is no company headquarters anymore. Apparently the entire administrative team has been let go and the company is being run by liquidators while they get rid of all their stock.

The store manager says that it must be safe since it doesn't have a "for decoration only" sticker on it, and that she thinks imported dishes have long been held to a different standard than imported toys. But that's simply her guess.

What do you guys think? Use or not use?

[testkitchen45]

I think it's naive of the store mgr to trust the sticker. So the toys should have a "lead-filled; do not chew" sticker on them, if stickers are accurate? I'd play it safe & take it back while you can, esp. since hot liquids can, I think, leach more lead from the glaze (kind of like alcohol leaching lead from lead crystal; you aren't supposed to store wine in a decanter). And I'd do it fast, b4 they say "no more returns." :)

[donnamp14]

I have heard that Bombay and Company is going out of business. I looked online yesterday to grab some sales, and it's shut down.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2007/10/15/daily2.html

I hope you can return it if you decide that's the route you want to take.

-Donna

[Robyncz]

Yep. The website is shut down and the offices are closed, but the stores are still open and liquidating inventory.

[erinl]

The Chicago Tribune recently did a story about the safety of decorative serving pieces, etc made around the world. They bought a bunch of bowls from major retailers and tested everything. All met national lead safety standards. Only one out of 30+ (I think) bowls didn't meet California's stricter rules. IMHO, because it came with the infuser, I would use it. It had to meet some sort of safety standards. Maybe I'm being naive. Anyway, at least around here, it's too late to return anything.

[Robyncz]

Erin,
That's pretty much the exact conversation my husband and I just had. Until they went bankrupt, Bombay was certainly a reputable vendor, and being a national coporation, I'm sure they took precautions to keep themselves safe from liability. And since they had stores in California (as far as I know!), they would have had to meet the CA standards as well.

But I don't want to be naive, either. Maybe I'll just get a lead swab kit and make sure. Can't hurt, I guess.

[HealthyinMN]

But I don't want to be naive, either. Maybe I'll just get a lead swab kit and make sure. Can't hurt, I guess.

For what it's worth, I've heard more and more recently about how those lead "kits" don't work all that well -

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_7255653

Armed with over-the-counter kits, parents may be swabbing Barbie's lip gloss or Batman's crusading cape for signs of lead paint.

It's more than likely a waste of time and money.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a report Monday that kits designed to test for high levels of lead in house paint are unreliable when it comes to testing for lead paint on toys.

"They don't work," commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese said Monday.

The test kits haven't been flying off the shelves in this area.

"We've sold a few -- not a heck of a lot," said Cliff Kayser, the manager of Deep's Hardware in Danbury.

"I've sold a couple," said Pete Sylvester, owner of Sherman Hardware. "But the demand just hasn't been that great.''

Kim Valladares, manager of the Teacher Parent Store on Mill Plain Road in Danbury, said Monday while many parents have come to the store to get a pamphlet listing toys that have been recalled, she doesn't know anyone who has taken the step of testing old toys for lead.

Lead paint worries began this summer, when Mattel Inc. recalled more than 10 million toys sold under its name that were made in China. There, to cut costs, manufacturers had used lead-based paint to doll up several models -- Barbie, Batman, Dora the Explorer, and Polly Pocket.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission raised the alert, Vallese said, because it's against U.S. law to use lead-based paint.

"Lead-based paint has been banned in this country for
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40 years," she said. "U.S. manufacturers thought the issue had been taken care of."

Vallese said the commission has examined lead paint test kits in the past. But because of the new fears of lead paint on toys, she said it did a new round of tests and came up with the same conclusions -- you can't trust the results.

In 104 tests it did using different kits, more than half -- 56 tests -- registered false negatives, showing no problem when there was actually lead paint on a surface. Another two tests gave false positives, showing lead when none was present.

[bobmark226]

Bombay was certainly a reputable vendor, and being a national coporation, I'm sure they took precautions to keep themselves safe from liability.

Oh, like the Gap and child labor? Reputable company contracts to manufacturer, all safeguards in place, but it turns out contractor uses a subcontractor who happens to.........

Bob

[Robyn1007]

Oh, like the Gap and child labor? Reputable company contracts to manufacturer, all safeguards in place, but it turns out contractor uses a subcontractor who happens to.........

Bob

Or Mattel? I agree, you can't depend on just the reputable company stuff but on the other hand, I wouldn't freak about a teapot either.