My search for the safest, made in USA tableware

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And Anchor Hocking was my choice! I’m thrilled with it for several reasons: it’s very reasonably priced, it’s completely free of lead & cadmium, and it’s made in the USA, meeting all my criteria. I already owned several Anchor storage containers, they’re very similar to Pyrex, and they come in every size & shape imaginable. I  had been considering Fiestaware which many adore for it’s bright, beautiful colors, and the fact that it’s lead free, but guess what? Those colors contain cadmium 😦  From the research I’ve done, just about anything painted yellow, orange or red will contain cadmium. And, it’s quite expensive. I could not be happier with my new tableware from Anchor. You should shop around a little, I purchased my mugs & bowls from Amazon for a very reasonable price, but the plates were twice as much on Amazon as they were from Bed Bath & Beyond. Some Target’s, Wal-Mart’s & other big box stores even carry the line, although none local to me do.

Anchor Hocking confirmed that all their offerings, even the colored glass, are free of cadmium & lead, which are the main concerns in just about all tableware. I went with the Presence line: I got 6 mugs for $20.  The bowls were the most expensive, I should’ve shopped around a bit more, these were $24 for 4 of them, they didn’t qualify for Prime shipping, but I applied for the Amazon credit card which got me a $30 Amazon gift certificate, so they were free basically, and I will never use the credit card 🙂  The plates were 6/$9.99 from Bed Bath & Beyond, and shipping was $7.99, so I got 12 of each size plate (8″ & 10″) shipped for $50 total, coming out to only $2/plate. This comes out to ~$13 for the 4 piece setting, and I think I could’ve found the bowls cheaper had I shopped around more. This is less than 1/2 price compared to Fiestaware, which even on sale is hard to find under $30/ 4 piece setting. We drink from glass Mason jars, although we’ve been drinking from these mugs quite a bit, they’re certainly not just for coffee! Ball & Kerr  Mason jars are made in the USA.  The pint wide mouths are my favorite, and a case of 12 is less than $10. We keep the smaller sizes around for my 3 year old, it’s all he’s ever drank from other than a stainless steel or glass bottle when we’re on the go. I’m really, really happy with my purchases. I haven’t had them all that long though, so will certainly update as to how everything’s holding up over time. But, I did hear from 1 person who had the mugs for 8 years now & they are in great shape still, which is encouraging!

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Amazon links: Cafe Mug (on left): http://amzn.to/1GwtkWI

Rio Coffee Mugs (on right): http://amzn.to/1yMAaDR

8″ Salad plates- 12 pk: http://amzn.to/1xzndar

10″ plate- http://amzn.to/2BAJ4vG

bowls- http://amzn.to/1sZhXAu

2 gal beverage dispenser- http://amzn.to/1wp3U2c

PLEASE read this article about the dangers of using glassware in the oven. Properly cared for it can last a lifetime. http://www.household-management-101.com/glass-bakeware.html

3 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. Jena
    Jun 26, 2014 @ 20:02:12

    I’m so excited about this! We have a line of bone china from Crate and Barrel, made in China and I don’t even want to know what’s in them. I imagine lead. It will be a tough sell to convince my husband to sell these dishes and get glass. What can I say to him to convince him if this?! Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to finding safe, made in the USA dishes! I truly appreciate it!

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  2. ecofriendlymamausa
    Jun 27, 2014 @ 18:56:44

    I know Jennifer from Organic Baby University had a professional lead tester come into her house & her Crate & Barrel dishes tested positive for lead, but I’m not sure which she had, you could ask! Not sure on convincing Hubby, but if you can sell what you have, the Anchor sets are so affordable it seems like an easy decision to me! And peace of mind is priceless!

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  3. Kerry
    Oct 28, 2014 @ 03:20:10

    I bought these about 6 months ago from Oneida.com when they were having a crazy good sale and got a 16-piece set of 4 place settings for $20!!! I didn’t know anything about them at the time but couldn’t pass it up! They have been awesome and are the only thing that I trust to reheat our food on in the microwave. And how about the fact that they go with everything, all decor and all seasons?!?!

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