We helped pioneer the use of natural fibre composite material in reusable cups in the UK and Europe. Since 2014 we have developed a forensic understanding of our material composition, provenance, production process and required global safety testing.
Since then, a number of imitation products have entered the market, with varying levels of quality and legitimacy. While some of these come from reputable production facilities, many do not. Poor quality, false and misleading claims and a lack of transparency relating to compliance with global food contact regulations, has drawn an unprecedented amount of scrutiny upon our products.
While we choose not speak for the entire industry, we do speak for ourselves. What we can say about the vast majority of products that may look vaguely like ours, whether they are made from wheat, rice husk, bamboo or other “natural” materials:
- They can contain up to 60% melamine, even some that claim to be melamine-free. We have tested many competitor products. There is nothing here that we don’t know.
- They make misleading statements about biodegradability. For the record, there is not one reusable Cup that is biodegradable to European standards.
- They overplay the “eco-friendliness” of their products without knowing what they actually made from.
Since late-2018, as an industry-setting standard, we removed 90% of melamine from our product (from 25% to less than 3%) This has been independently verified in Europe by Intertek UK. These tests are available upon request.
How to determine if you have an authentic Ecoffee Cup
Lid
Ecoffee Cup has a matte lid with stopper. embossed with the words No Excuse For Single-Use or Choose To Re-use. It should be comparatively stiff, not soft and floppy
Base
Ecoffee Cup has a pressed base or printed back stamp
Sleeve
Heavy weight, with embossed Ecoffee Cup logo in roundel
If you believe you have paid for an Ecoffee Cup but bought a fake, please email us on sales@tipto.co.za with details.