Rubbermaid is owned by Newell Brands, a publicly traded consumer products company that acquired Rubbermaid in a 5.8 billion dollar merger in 1999.
Rubbermaid makes food storage containers, trash cans, closet organization systems, and outdoor storage sheds, and the brand has been a fixture in American kitchens and garages for more than a century.
Newell Brands now oversees a large portfolio that includes Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, and Yankee Candle alongside Rubbermaid, and the company has restructured parts of the Rubbermaid business in recent years, including licensing some of its heaviest duty storage totes to an outside manufacturer.
But where are Rubbermaid products actually made today, and is any of it still built in the USA?
This article will explore who owns Rubbermaid, where its products are actually manufactured, why some of its toughest totes carry a genuine Made in USA claim, and the brand’s founding history.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Owns Rubbermaid?
Rubbermaid is a subsidiary of Newell Brands, listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker NWL.
Current products are shown on Rubbermaid’s official website.
Newell acquired Rubbermaid in a stock swap deal valued at roughly 5.8 billion dollars in 1998, and the combined company operated for years as Newell Rubbermaid before rebranding to Newell Brands after acquiring Jarden in 2016.
Newell Brands is publicly traded with broad institutional ownership and no single controlling shareholder, and CEO Chris Peterson has led the company through a period of portfolio simplification in recent years.
Where Are Rubbermaid Products Made?
Rubbermaid products are made both in the USA and overseas, and the split depends heavily on the specific product line.
Core food storage lines like Brilliance, TakeAlongs, and EasyFindLids are manufactured through Newell’s broader global supply chain, which includes facilities in the United States as well as overseas plants.
Newell began shifting a meaningful share of Rubbermaid manufacturing to lower cost locations, including Mexico, China, Poland, and Hungary, during a major cost cutting period in the early 2000s.
Because sourcing varies by product and can change between production runs, the most reliable way to confirm a specific item’s origin is to check the country of origin printed on the packaging.
Why Are Some Rubbermaid Totes Made in the USA?
Rubbermaid’s heavy duty ActionPacker, Roughneck, Cleverstore, and EcoSense storage totes are manufactured domestically under an exclusive licensing agreement with United Solutions, a plastics manufacturer headquartered in Leominster, Massachusetts.
United Solutions and Rubbermaid have collaborated since 2006, and Newell Brands sold the consumer storage totes business, worth roughly 70 million dollars in annual sales, to United Solutions outright while retaining the Rubbermaid brand name through a licensing arrangement.
United Solutions manufactures these totes at its own molding facilities in Leominster, Massachusetts and Sardis, Mississippi, and promotes them specifically as Made in the USA.
This means Rubbermaid’s toughest outdoor storage totes carry a genuine domestic manufacturing claim, even though most of the brand’s everyday kitchen containers do not.
Rubbermaid vs Sterilite: How Do They Compare?
Rubbermaid and Sterilite are two of the most common storage brands found at big box retailers, and they compete directly across food storage, totes, and organizational bins.
Sterilite is a privately held, family owned company based in Townsend, Massachusetts, giving it a very different ownership structure than Rubbermaid’s large public parent, Newell Brands.
Rubbermaid generally sits at a higher price point and leans on premium sub brands like Brilliance for airtight, leak proof food storage, while Sterilite is typically positioned as the budget focused alternative in the same aisle.
Both companies manufacture across a mix of domestic and overseas facilities, and neither brand publishes a complete public breakdown of which specific products are made where.
When Was Rubbermaid Founded?
Rubbermaid traces back to 1920, when nine businessmen in Wooster, Ohio pooled 26,800 dollars to form the Wooster Rubber Company, originally selling toy balloons under the Sunshine brand.
In 1933, James R Caldwell and his wife patented a blue rubber dustpan and began selling rubber kitchen products under the name Rubbermaid.
Wooster Rubber merged with Caldwell’s Rubbermaid line in 1934, and the combined company eventually adopted the Rubbermaid name entirely.
Rubbermaid acquired toy maker Little Tikes in 1984 and grew into one of the most recognized names in American household goods before Newell’s acquisition in 1999 folded it into a much larger consumer products portfolio.
Is Rubbermaid Good Quality?
Rubbermaid’s premium Brilliance line consistently earns praise from customers for its airtight seal and leak proof performance, with many reviewers specifically calling out how well it prevents spills compared to older container styles.
The most common complaint across retailer review pages involves lids and containers cracking, particularly on the clear Tritan plastic Brilliance line, with some owners reporting cracks appearing within months of regular dishwasher use.
Community discussion on sites like Slickdeals echoes this pattern, with several users describing Brilliance containers cracking after roughly a year of use, though many still consider them a worthwhile upgrade from glass alternatives.
Rubbermaid backs its Brilliance line with a full lifetime warranty, and the company’s customer care team is generally responsive to complaints, though some reviewers note the replacement process requires a phone call rather than an automatic online exchange.
Overall, Rubbermaid remains one of the most trusted names in household storage, with quality concerns concentrated mainly in specific product lines rather than the brand as a whole.
For more kitchen and home brand ownership stories, see our guides to where All-Clad cookware is made, who makes Ninja blenders, and where Whirlpool refrigerators are made.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Rubbermaid
Are Rubbermaid products made in the USA?
Some Rubbermaid products are made in the USA, particularly the ActionPacker, Roughneck, and Cleverstore storage totes, which are manufactured domestically by licensed partner United Solutions. Most everyday food storage containers are sourced through a mix of domestic and overseas facilities.
Who owns Rubbermaid?
Rubbermaid is owned by Newell Brands, a publicly traded consumer products company that also owns Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, and Yankee Candle.
Does United Solutions make all Rubbermaid products?
No, United Solutions only manufactures specific heavy duty storage tote lines, including ActionPacker, Roughneck, Cleverstore, and EcoSense, under an exclusive licensing agreement. Rubbermaid’s food storage and other product lines are made separately.
Is Rubbermaid the same company as Tupperware?
No, Rubbermaid and Tupperware are separate, competing companies. Rubbermaid is owned by Newell Brands, while Tupperware operates independently under its own post bankruptcy ownership structure.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.