Which cups, mugs and tumblers contain no plastic at all, lid and finish included?
This category is being vetted. Nothing here is a recommendation yet.
Where plastic hides in cups, mugs and tumblers
A bare steel cup, a fired clay mug and a glass tumbler have nothing to hide. The plastic arrives with the add-ons. A sipping lid is polypropylene or silicone. Colored steel is powder-coated, which is a plastic skin, and brushed stainless is the bare one. Silicone sleeves and base pads add grip. "Bamboo fiber" cups are ground bamboo set in melamine resin. On a mug, the design can be acrylic paint sitting on top of the glaze instead of glass fired into it. Insulated tumblers add a gasket and a base pad to the list.
What to check before you buy
- The lid: steel, glass or cork, or polypropylene or silicone?
- The finish: bare steel or fired glaze, or powder coat and paint?
- The decoration on a mug: fired into the glaze, or acrylic on top?
- The sleeve and base pad: none, cork or cotton, or silicone?
- The material: real steel, glass or clay, or "bamboo fiber" bound in resin?
- The gasket on an insulated cup: named, and what is it made of?
- Packaging: paper and card, or a plastic sleeve?