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PlasticFreeLab
12 in the lab47 queuedUpdated weekly
The lab · MMXXVI

We test what's actually inside the products in your kitchen.

A small group of researchers reading the studies, sending products to accredited labs, and publishing what we'd tell a friend, with sources. No fear bait.

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12 currently testing · 47 queued · updated weekly

Currently in the lab

The categories we're working through this quarter.

The Investigation

The one we're pushing this month.

  1. 01
    Material composition

    Every brand's own filings, not the marketing copy. Which layers are disclosed, which aren't, and what “non-toxic” actually ends up meaning in a claim.

  2. 02
    Heat & abrasion behaviour

    Six weeks on the lab bench. Infrared temperature maps, cast-iron comparison, and the one test most reviewers skip.

  3. 03
    Who disagrees, and why

    We name the critics, link their work, and say where we still disagree. Investigative, not performative.

New and now

The two investigations we just published.

92Cookware investigation

Best non-toxic cookware sets of 2026, tested and ranked

We tested 14 non-toxic cookware brands. Here's the editor's pick, the budget option, and the ones we'd skip, with sources.

Read the investigation 93Water filter investigation

Best water filters for the home: countertop vs under-sink vs whole-house

We compared countertop, under-sink, and whole-house water filters on contaminant removal, flow rate, and cost per gallon. Here's our ranked pick.

Read the investigation

Browse by category

The Latest

Freshly tested, freshly cited.

Browse brands A-Z

Every brand we've tested, scored, or rejected. New letters fill in as the index grows.

Advanced search

Browse all: brands · categories · materials · price tiers

How we test

  1. Plain brown paper retail package on a wooden doorstep with an unbranded paper receipt resting on top in soft morning daylight.
    Step 01

    We buy with our own money

    Every product is purchased anonymously at retail. We send a sample to an ISO 17025 accredited lab and screen for the analytes that matter for that category.

  2. Plain glass laboratory beaker with clear liquid on a stainless steel laboratory bench in soft cool laboratory light.
    Step 02

    We home-test in real kitchens

    Every product runs through real-life use cases. Cookware gets seared, scrubbed, dishwashed. Filters get challenged with spiked water. Bottles get drop-tested.

  3. Open paper notebook with a blank grid-paper page on a wooden desk next to an unbranded fountain pen and folded measuring tape in soft morning light.
    Step 03

    Tests are standardized

    Same protocol for every product in a category. Results are comparable across products. Methodology is published, versioned, and revisable.

How we report · Who reports it

The editorial board.

Four chairs at the table. Each one can kill a sentence we can't defend.

The Research Lead

Reads the primary literature. Cites the trial, not the press release. Disagreement with the consensus only shows up when the data earns it.

The Household Testing Lead

Cooks on every pan for a month. Weighs every bottle. Measures every claim. Tools and notebooks outnumber the opinions.

The Medical Reviewer

Flags YMYL claims. Confirms no fearmongering made it past the edit. The person who quietly removes the scary sentence.

The Sourcing Lead

Reads spec sheets. Triangulates manufacturer claims with third-party test data. Names the brands we reject, and says why.

From the lab notebook

What we're working on.

Which swap are we testing in April?
Glass water bottles: borosilicate vs soda-lime vs stainless, weighed, dropped, temperature-shocked. Results publish in the May dispatch.
What brand are we rejecting this month?
One marketed as PFAS-free whose own MSDS lists a fluoropolymer coating. We'll name it when the full write-up lands, with the filing.
A reader asked: is our water filter pick outdated?
The 2024 NSF updates don't change our top recommendation. The runner-up slot is under review. Expect a refresh note by end of month.
What's the next investigation?
Non-toxic mattresses. We've opened the spec sheets for five brands and started reaching out for third-party test data. Publication target: June.
How do we handle a manufacturer that asks us to retest?
We retest on our bench, not theirs. If their data contradicts ours, we publish both, name the disagreement, and let the reader see the work.
Do affiliate links change our rankings?
They never have. Commissions fund the testing; they don't buy placement. Anything a brand sends us unsolicited goes into the give-away pile, not the review.

The five hubs

01

Microplastics & EDCs

The science, in plain English. What's actually known, what's still debated, and what to do about it.

Open hub 02

Non-Toxic Kitchen

The highest-impact swaps in your home, ranked by how much they matter. Cookware, water, storage, the works.

Open hub 03

Personal Care

Shampoo to sunscreen, the calm truth about what's in your bathroom and what's worth replacing.

Open hub 04

Home Environment

Mattresses, cleaning products, air quality, and the quiet exposures you never think about.

Open hub 05

Clothing & Textiles

Microplastics, PFAS in clothes, and the textile supply chain, with the brands worth buying.

Open hub
The Dispatch

One calm, cited email every week.

No scare headlines. No daily fire-hose. One thing we verified or changed our mind about, every Tuesday morning. Plus the free Kitchen Swap Audit when you subscribe.

The Kitchen Swap Audit

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A printable checklist of 50+ kitchen items, each ranked swap now / swap eventually / don't bother. Free. Delivered instantly.

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Last updated · June 17, 2026