News

Aug 02, 2023

Green Sprouts Recalls Water Bottles Because of Lead Hazard

The company is offering a refund to customers who bought them Green Sprouts, an

The company is offering a refund to customers who bought them

Green Sprouts, an Asheville, N.C.-based manufacturer of products for children, is recalling over 10,500 stainless steel water bottles and sippy cups for babies and toddlers because of a lead poisoning risk.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that there have been at least seven incidents where the base of these cups has popped off, exposing lead solder that seals the two parts of the cups together. No injuries have been reported so far. There's no safe level of lead exposure, and babies and toddlers are at a unique risk of developing intellectual disabilities and neurological harm from ingesting or handling lead.

The company is recalling about 8,900 stainless steel sippy cups, sip and straw cups, and straw bottles sold in the U.S., as well as about 1,600 sold in Europe, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. The products were sold on Amazon and at Whole Foods and Buy Buy Baby since January 2020.

In an incident reported to the CPSC, a parent wrote that the base of one of the sippy cups popped off "within weeks" of purchasing it on Amazon, exposing "a solid lead sealing dot" inside and potentially endangering a 13-month-old baby.

Green Sprouts says that customers with bottles or cups affected by this recall should immediately stop using them and discard the stainless steel components. It notes that customers can keep the plastic and silicone components to use with other bottles and cups made by the company.

Green Sprouts didn't respond to CR's request for comment. But the company's website has this statement: "We were recently made aware that our Stainless-Steel Sippy Cups, Sip & Straw Cups, and Straw Bottles were manufactured with a solder dot containing lead that creates a vacuum seal between the internal and external steel layers. Testing of this component was omitted by the CPSC-approved third-party lab because this part of the product is inaccessible under normal use. Had we been aware that a component containing lead in these products could become accessible, we wouldn't have put them on the market."

The statement says that in the future, the company will "ensure that lead is not used as a soldering material, no matter whether it would be accessible."

The CPSC says that the rules for lead in children's products don't apply if, in the agency's judgment, the lead would not "become physically exposed through reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of the product including swallowing, mouthing, breaking, or other children's activities, and the aging of the product."

CR's product safety experts believe that companies should be extra cautious with the use of any lead in their products. "Lead exposure is serious, especially for children, and we urge everyone who has one of these products to immediately throw away the stainless steel parts of their water bottle or sippy cup," says William Wallace, CR's associate director of safety policy. "This situation should serve as a warning to all manufacturers of children's products. It's critical for companies to ask tough questions of suppliers and go the extra mile to make sure products are safe before they’re sold."

Products recalled: Sprout Ware Sippy Cup made from Plants and Stainless Steel (6 oz.), Sprout Ware Sip & Straw Cup made from Plants and Stainless Steel (6 oz.), and Sprout Ware Straw Bottle made from Plants and Stainless Steel (8 oz.), made by Green Sprouts of Asheville, N.C. The products have the tracking numbers 29218V06985, 35719V06985, and 33020V06985, which can be found on the bottom of the base.

Sold at: Buy Buy Baby and Whole Foods stores nationwide and online at Amazon, buybuybaby.com, and bedbathandbeyond.com from January 2020 through September 2022 for $14 to $19.

Units sold: About 8,917 bottles in the U.S., about 340 in Europe, about 144 in Australia, and about 1,165 in the United Arab Emirates.

The problem: The stainless steel bottles and the bottom base of the cups can break off, exposing a solder dot that contains lead, posing a poisoning hazard to a child. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

The fix: Customers with bottles or cups affected by this recall should immediately stop using them and discard the stainless steel components. (The company says you can continue to use the plastic and silicone components, which are compatible with other Green Sprouts bottles and cups.) Contact Green Sprouts or fill out this online form to receive a refund.

How to contact the manufacturer: Call Green Sprouts at 800-876-1574, send email to [email protected], or go to the company's website.

Lauren Kirchner

I’m an investigative reporter on CR's Special Projects team, covering product safety. I’ve previously reported on algorithmic bias, criminal justice, and housing for The Markup and ProPublica. My reporting aims to expose and explain how decisions made by corporations and governments can have wide-reaching and often unintended consequences. Send me tips at [email protected] and on Twitter at @lkirchner, or ask for my Signal number.