Coffee mugs from China - buy new ones often

[Karlin]

Look at the bottom of you coffee mug - they are all made in China unless you got a local crafter's mug, but anything under $5 is made in China. I sure cannot find a mug thats not made in China.

I bet a lot of those "Made in China" labels and tags are being peeled off right now, after all these warnings and recalls on Chinese goods. They might replace it with a fake one , but they can get fined for that [ha ha ha ha ha ha - by WHO? government regulaters? Not a chance].

The ceramics type goods have mercury and lead content. Thats a given when they come from China - there is mercury and lead everywhere, but especially in the ground, the clay, the sand.And therefore, your coffee mug.

When the stirring wears out the coating on the mug, we start to get the bad stuff. Those black streaks on the inside bottom of a used mug are not always a sign of lead, but often they are. Sometimes we just can't see it, but its there. Buy new ones every month to protect yourself. Lots of mercury can escape a coffee mug, due to heating and scraping and slurping.

We have seen everything from diapers and clothes to toothpaste and dog food contaminated by the Chinese capitalists [producers]. There has been no warning about coffee mugs, I am offering this one up by myself, but I have heard of the idea from others. I just know it is true, I have been avoiding Chinese coffee mugs for years now because I remembered that warning, but I still have them here, I use them for want of another type. I better spend the big bucks on a crafters mug for the locals.

 

[karrie]

Okay.. so you're saying that the lead and mercury are found in the earth... and thus will be in the clay used to make the mugs. And as the coating wears, the toxins (or rather, elements, since these are often naturally occurring) will seep out.

Do the chinese have different earth than we do? Because the Canadian Shield is thick with mercury. It's why dams cause so much mercury contamination, they flood earth that hasn't been flooded before, and release new mercury. So, avoiding chinese goods in this particular case only means that once the coating on your mug wears out (because canadian coatings are no better), you're getting canadian rather than chinese mercury.

How is that any better?

 

[Unforgiven]

Okay.. so you're saying that the lead and mercury are found in the earth... and thus will be in the clay used to make the mugs. And as the coating wears, the toxins (or rather, elements, since these are often naturally occurring) will seep out.

Do the chinese have different earth than we do? Because the Canadian Shield is thick with mercury. It's why dams cause so much mercury contamination, they flood earth that hasn't been flooded before, and release new mercury. So, avoiding chinese goods in this particular case only means that once the coating on your mug wears out (because canadian coatings are no better), you're getting canadian rather than chinese mercury.

How is that any better?

Our locals get the 10 cents instead of their locals.

 

[karrie]

Our locals get the 10 cents instead of their locals.

Which I'd totally agree with if someone said 'buy local and support our own economy'. But to spew inaccuracies about Chinese clay being more contaminated with mercury than ours? It's certainly not going to sway me into buying Canadian, especially given that it's not 10 cents going to us instead, it's give the chinese my 10 cents, or give a canadian craftsman my 10 dollars.

 

[MikeyDB]

Karrie

The choice is made for you my friend. First American and Canadian marketers flood our countries with Chinese goods while making a fortune...then they blame China for making sub-standard products.

It's acceptable to send our dollars to China so long as their products are "quality" and no Canadian or American would work for the rate that China pays it's employees/prisoners...so profit is good...

Then when the issues of lead contamination and poor quality surface...well of course that has nothing to do with Mattel or any American company offering huge profits to China for sub-standard material while promoting sweat-shop economics....

Consumers: Prepared to ignore reality for a "good deal"....

 

[#juan]

Okay.. so you're saying that the lead and mercury are found in the earth... and thus will be in the clay used to make the mugs. And as the coating wears, the toxins (or rather, elements, since these are often naturally occurring) will seep out.

Do the chinese have different earth than we do? Because the Canadian Shield is thick with mercury. It's why dams cause so much mercury contamination, they flood earth that hasn't been flooded before, and release new mercury. So, avoiding chinese goods in this particular case only means that once the coating on your mug wears out (because canadian coatings are no better), you're getting canadian rather than chinese mercury.

How is that any better?

The way I understand it Karrie is the high levels of lead, mercury, and cadmium are in the bright coloured paints and in the glazes found on Chinese pottery. We don't allow these things as far as I know. am checking.......:smile:.

 

[karrie]

The way I understand it Karrie is the high levels of lead, mercury, and cadmium are in the bright coloured paints and in the glazes found on Chinese pottery. We don't allow these things as far as I know. am checking.......:smile:.

*I* know where the issue comes in (and yes, lead and other toxins in paint is the issue, but they are found in the glaze too, and so replacing them often wouldn't help, it would probably just mean you were replacing the elements you'd finally managed to wear out of the old mug). But the OP said it's 'especially' from the clay. I just wanted clarification from him as to why he would think Chinese clay is more dangerous than Canadian clay.

 

[Karlin]

it came from their coal

I just wanted clarification from him as to why he would think Chinese clay is more dangerous than Canadian clay.

karie, thats the crux of it, yes. I hope I am not rubbing you the wrong way with this, you sound a bit angry.

The problem is "all over China", in that so much of their 'dirty coal' has been burned that mercury and lead are THICK [comparitively] everywhere in China. It mostly ends up in the top levels of soils and so on there.

Canada's coal is not nearly so 'dirty' with mercury, and Canada is much larger as you know, and so what mercury our power plants do spew is much less concentrated. This is an accepted fact about Chinese coal, and the pollution from it.

This is not just my idea, I heard it years ago, and it was repeated recently when the Chinese product recalls got public attention.

Perhaps I just scared you a bit, sorry.

 

[mabudon]

I don't know how I know this exactly, BUT there's a few "tricks" with this stuff- many of the dollar-store mugs and cups etc are "intended" to be "display only". I know I recently saw a warning on a box of mugs that said something to the effect that you weren't actually supposed to USE them.

So our standards apply to DRINKING mugs, not display mugs- opnly thing is, how the HELL can one tell the difference when there's shelves of them bearing simply the "made in China" sticker??

Me, I am SERIOUSLY considering switching to a pyrex tea-cup

 

[goat]

I would be very suspicious of anything that requires ingesting and hails from China.

After all, their own managers are dropping like flies these days at their own hands and the hands of their government as more and more bacteria laden items are banned and recalled in the west.

 

[karrie]

karie, thats the crux of it, yes. I hope I am not rubbing you the wrong way with this, you sound a bit angry.

The problem is "all over China", in that so much of their 'dirty coal' has been burned that mercury and lead are THICK [comparitively] everywhere in China. It mostly ends up in the top levels of soils and so on there.

Canada's coal is not nearly so 'dirty' with mercury, and Canada is much larger as you know, and so what mercury our power plants do spew is much less concentrated. This is an accepted fact about Chinese coal, and the pollution from it.

This is not just my idea, I heard it years ago, and it was repeated recently when the Chinese product recalls got public attention.

Perhaps I just scared you a bit, sorry.

No, I'm not angry. So, explain then how mercury in topsoil affects the clay used to create mugs. Topsoil and clay are two different things and clay is not prone to absorption the way the upper layers are.

I'm just failing on many levels to see where this is a justified, valid concern the way you've presented it. And simply because you've heard it elsewheres does not lend it any credibility. Especially if it cropped up during the fear mongering surrounding the Chinese recalls.

 

[Curiosity]

Mikey

I doubt it is an advantage to the United States marketing Chinese products as currently they have a trade deficit with China over 125 billion - imbalance like that is not good for the U.S.

That China doesn't practice manufacturing safety is because of the huge explosion in trade which has fallen their way and no doubt it will be years before their standards meet the stringent ones the western nations have adopted.

There have been food poisoning scares and childrens' painted toy scares and the latest one this week claims there is formaldahyde found in the materials of children's clothing.... whether this is fact or market positioning by another nation I don't know....I don't see much substance in the reporting only sound bites which have everyone paranoid...and could possibly tip the trade balance again...

Actually there were more imports of bad food from Mexico than China this past year to date...salmonella being the primary poison.

Corporate gamesmanship on our dollar.

And to think I grumble about French on the Kleenex boxes.....for Spanish speaking Americans...sigh

 

[Karlin]

karrie - I failed to clarify the exact way that Chinese mercury gets into coffee mugs. Good point, clearly I didn't do a good job of that. It is a fact that their top soils and clays are heavily contaminated with mercury - can you at least give me that? It does come from their coal, you HAVE to agree that their coal is heavy with mercury, thats an accepted a fact - try googling it.
eg: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/mercury_from_ch_1.php

From there, it really is not much of a stretch to see that it would get into their products, but especially in their products that are made with clays and so on. Heck, even from the air in China there is mercury content.

However, I cannot even verify that their mugs are made with clay, actually it is a sort of ceramic stuff. Therefore, you got me, yup, I will even apologise for not being able to back up my claim, sorry. I sincerely believe it tho.

karrie, take your chances then, but others here can see that it is likely that mercuy is in the mugs, and it is going to get transferred to your coffee and tea if you drink it from Chinese made mugs.

Other stuff - Curiosity poster -
I do agree that corporate trickery abounds here, but maybe the Chinese contaminations are not just made up - This morning the news ticker said that AMERICAN companies were the problem, that they send the designs/materials etc instructions, and even supply some of the materials, [but not clay, karrie, ha ha] to China. So that kinda means that the USA is not just dissing China to help sell more USA goods [trade imbalance].

 

[TenPenny]

However, I cannot even verify that their mugs are made with clay, actually it is a sort of ceramic stuff. Therefore, you got me, yup, I will even apologise for not being able to back up my claim, sorry. I sincerely believe it tho.

Yup, I don't know what I'm talking about, but I sure have an opinion. Yup. Yessirreee. Boy.

 

[Karlin]

Apology - no evidence of mercury

Ok, I will back off of this, with a full apology to all - esp karrie

I AM SORRY TO BE SUCH AN IDIOT AS TO SAY CHINESE COFFEE MUGS ARE A THREAT TO OUR HEALTH, or that they contain mercury in any amount. I only heard it from another source, which is completely unreliable.

I do not know of what I speak on this matter, and I should never have raised the issue.

This is not sarcasm, it is a lesson learned by me. I get it now.

Very sorry.
Enjoy your coffee,
Karlin

 

[karrie]

I AM SORRY TO BE SUCH AN IDIOT AS TO SAY CHINESE COFFEE MUGS ARE A THREAT TO OUR HEALTH, Very sorry.
Enjoy your coffee,
Karlin

Saying that they may be a risk is probably a valid concern Karlin. Due to paint and such, yes,it is something we should be encouraging our governments to look at. Just not due to the clay... that's all I was saying. I didn't mean to come off as a ballbuster on this one.

 

[missile]

I have to say this for China: when the problems are presented to them [re; lead,etc.], they take drastic steps to correct them. They want us to remain customers of their product,after all.And, shooting corrupt officials is a lovely idea.

 

[missile]

P.S. I drink my coffee out of my 16 oz. Thermos mugs made in the USA:smile:

 

[Impetus]

And, shooting corrupt officials is a lovely idea.

Who would be left to spend our tax money?

Muz

 

[LaoWai]

I would be very suspicious of anything that requires ingesting and hails from China.
.

I am doomed...I've been using mugs and toothpaste made in China for the past five years since I've lived here...oh but so has everybody in Canada too.
chinatattler