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The company has taken the decision that it will phase out its use of polycarbonate. It is still approved by the USFDA and European Commission but is on a watch list. The French Government has banned its sale for food contact applications from 1st January 2015. No other materials used contains BPA.
The Marc Newson Collection is now only offered in BPA-free Tritan.
Tritan is a patented copolyester made by Eastman in the USA.
In our view, Tritan is the best available material for unbreakable drinkware.
It has even more suitable for unbreakable drinkware than polycarbonate. It has better resistance to dishwasher chemicals, is water-clear and has similar clarity, and is just as tough and unbreakable. The Marc Newson Collection is guaranteed to be unbreakable in normal use.
Dishwasher Stability. Tritan is more resistant to dishwasher chemicals than polycarbonate and has virtually an indefinite life. Both remain clear. Polycarbonate requires annealing – particularly on thick sections – to attain long dishwasher life. Most manufacturers do not anneal as it is an expensive process. Another commonly used material is SAN. It has reasonable dishwashing performance but has poor heat stability and goes white overtime. At dishwasher temperatures, it can become soft and distort – particularly on the bottom shelf. Many SAN wine and flute glass are too tall to fit on the top shelf and so become vulnerable. A further issue with SAN is that it is not water clear and has a blue tint. Acrylic water clear, but is attacked by dishwasher chemicals and will only last a few cycles before crazing occurs.
Unbreakability This is a function of both the design and the material. Thin sections of Tritan or polycarbonate can be broken or distorted in the hand. The Marc Newson range has been carefully designed with adequate sections and has no sharp curves which can causing stress concentrations and hence breakage. We guarantee it to be unbreakable in normal use – it can be thrown on the ground and cannot be broken in the hand. To my knowledge, we are the only manufacturer to give such a guarantee.
Both SAN and Acrylic are brittle and can be easily broken.
Cost Tritan is 40% more expensive than polycarbonate, which is inturn is 40% more expensive than SAN. This explains SAN’s popularity.
Value and Environment Although products made from Tritan products are more expensive, they will outlast products made from SAN and acrylic many times, so are better value and better for the environment.