Do Our Rubber Bands Contain Harmful Chemicals? A Commitment to Safety

In today’s world, we are more conscious than ever about the products we bring into our homes, our schools, and our workplaces. We want to be sure that the items we use every day are free from harmful chemicals and are fundamentally safe for ourselves, our children, and our employees. This concern for safety is a valid and important one, and it leads to a question that we at RuBands take with the utmost seriousness: “Are your rubber bands safe?” We are proud to answer this question with a clear and confident “Yes.” Our commitment to producing safe products is a cornerstone of our brand, and it is a commitment that is backed by our deliberate choice of materials and our adherence to stringent safety standards.

This article will provide a transparent look at the materials we use and the steps we take to ensure that our products are completely non-toxic and safe for a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized applications.

The Foundation of Safety: High-Purity, Natural Materials

The journey to creating a safe product begins with the raw materials. The vast majority of our standard and industrial rubber bands are made from natural rubber latex.

• A Plant-Based Origin: Natural rubber is a renewable resource, a sap that is harvested from the Hevea brasiliensis tree. Its primary component, a polymer called polyisoprene, is a naturally occurring substance. This plant-based origin provides a much cleaner and safer foundation than many synthetic, petroleum-based materials.

– A Commitment to Purity: We source high-purity latex and rubber that is free from the contaminants that can sometimes be found in lower-grade materials. This ensures that the foundation of our product is as clean and as natural as possible.

Our “Do No Harm” Compounding Philosophy

The process of turning raw rubber into a finished, durable product involves mixing it with other ingredients in a process called compounding. This is a critical stage where a manufacturer’s commitment to safety is truly tested. Many of the potential hazards in low-quality rubber products come from the use of cheap, unregulated, or dangerous additives. Our compounding philosophy is guided by a strict “do no harm” principle.

What We Exclude From Our Products:

What we *leave out* of our rubber bands is just as important as what we put in. We have a strict policy of excluding a range of known harmful chemicals from our standard production:

• Free from Heavy Metals: Our color pigments and other additives are certified to be free from toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, and chromium. These substances can be found in some low-quality, low-cost colorants but are absolutely forbidden in our manufacturing process.
• Phthalate-Free: Phthalates are a class of chemicals often used as plasticizers to make materials more flexible. Certain phthalates have been linked to a range of health concerns. Our rubber compounds are completely phthalate-free. We achieve our superior flexibility through the quality of our natural rubber, not through the use of these chemical additives.
• BPA-Free: While more commonly associated with certain plastics, we ensure that our entire supply chain is free from Bisphenol A (BPA), guaranteeing that this chemical does not find its way into our products.

Adherence to International Safety Standards

Our internal commitment to creating safe products is validated by our adherence to major international safety standards.

• Compliance with CPSIA and REACH: We ensure that our products are compliant with major chemical safety regulations like the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) in the United States and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) in the European Union. These regulations provide a strict framework for what is considered safe for consumer goods, and our compliance is your assurance of safety.

Specialized Products for Sensitive Applications

We take our commitment to safety to an even higher level with our specialized product lines that are designed for the most sensitive of applications.

Our Certified Food-Grade Line

• For any application that involves direct contact with food, we offer our dedicated line of food-grade rubber bands. For these products, every single ingredient—from the rubber to the color pigments—is on the FDA’s list of substances that are approved for food contact. They are guaranteed to be non-toxic and are a perfect example of our commitment to application-specific safety.

Our Latex-Free Line

• We understand that some individuals have a latex allergy. To serve the needs of schools, hospitals, and other sensitive environments, we offer a line of bands made from a specially formulated synthetic rubber that is 100% latex-free. These products are designed to be completely allergy safe.

A Note on Child Safety

While our rubber bands are made from non-toxic materials, it is important to note that, like any small object, they can pose a choking hazard for very young children. We always recommend that young children are supervised when playing with rubber bands.

Conclusion: A Product You Can Trust

The question of whether our rubber bands contain harmful chemicals is one that we are proud to answer with a definitive “No.” Our commitment to producing safe, non-toxic products is an unwavering and integral part of our brand’s promise. It is a commitment that is reflected in our careful selection of high-purity, safe materials, our responsible compounding philosophy, and our strict adherence to international safety standards. When you choose a RuBands product, you can be confident that you are choosing a product that has been manufactured with the health and safety of you, your employees, and your family as our highest priority.