You may have noticed Kate Spade New York dinnerware products in department and kitchen stores, or perhaps online. Kate Spade teamed up with Lenox, a large and well-known brand that sells bone china, dinnerware, and other tabletop items. As Kate Spade china and dinnerware is under the Lenox umbrella, the manufacturing process for Lenox applies to Kate Spade dinnerware as well. This is what Lenox has to say regarding lead in their products:

“Lenox has been a leader in the tableware industry for over 120 years and our manufacturing process is dependable and trustworthy.  Our products are government tested annually and we assure you that our products test far below the stringent lead limits set by the Federal Food and Drug Administration and Tableware Safety Program standards.  We want to assure you that the safety of our customers is very important to us.  We value your patronage and hope that you will continue to support the Lenox product line.”

Therefore, they use an amount of lead that tests below FDA standards, but Lenox dinnerware (and therefore any Kate Spade bone china or dinnerware product) is NOT lead-free.

They can be misleading about this, which I’ve seen personally on one specific occasion. There was a Kate Spade drinking glass I was looking to buy about a year ago. They were Kate Spade New York Charlotte Street highball glasses (essentially a highball glass with a blue spiral going around it, as pictured above). Here’s the kicker: the glasses were advertised as “lead-free glass.” I was skeptical about this since I know Lenox (and therefore Kate Spade) dinnerware products contain lead, so I reached out to Lenox itself asking the specific question. This was their response:

“Our records indicate that even thought the Kate Spade Charlotte Street Blue glasses are lead free the paint that is used is not.”

So there you go. Even the products that are advertised as “lead-free” are not actually lead-free. If you’re satisfied with products that are below the FDA limits for lead, by all means buy Kate Spade and Lenox dinnerware. (They do have many wonderful designs!) But if you’re looking for lead-FREE, you will have to look elsewhere.