New Report from KID Highlights Children’s Product Recalls in 2009
Kids In Danger (KID), an advocacy group whose mission is to protect children by improving children’s product safety, just released their annual study for 2009: The Year of the Nursery Product Recall.
The report looks at the record-breaking number of children’s product recalls in 2009 (including a high number of children’s clothing recalls), and changes in our children’s product safety system over the year.
Children’s Clothing Recalls
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting us from being injured from the products we buy and use by issuing voluntary guidelines, regulating safety standards and laws, and identifying and recalling products that are potentially hazardous to consumers. The 2009 KID report focuses on products that were recalled.
Last year, the CPSC recalled 346 total products. 143 of these (41%) were children’s products ranging from nursery items to clothing, toys, outdoor and sports items, jewelry, art and school supplies, and furniture.
According to KID’s findings, the 39 children’s clothing recalls made up 27 percent of all of the children’s product recalls. Because each product is sold broadly, 2,452,890 children’s clothing items were affected.
What are the Hazards?
Children’s clothing manufacturers have both required safety standards and voluntary guidelines they are asked to follow that are intended to prevent death or injury to children, such as burning, choking, poisoning, strangulation, and entanglement.
While only 6 products were recalled last year due to small parts that could cause choking, those six products resulted in the greatest number of clothing units (1,532,470) being called in. The report states that there were 10 choking incidents related to these products reported to the CPSC in 2009.
The CPSC also recalled clothing products with drawstrings that posed strangulation (612,020 units) or entanglement/entrapment (4,900 units) hazards. Although less clothing units were recalled because of drawstring hazards than for choking hazards, 23 products were found to have used potentially hazardous drawstrings.
Other clothing products that were recalled included pajamas that did not meet flammability standards and posed burn hazards, and children’s shoes with high lead content.
Visit KID for the full report – which includes a list of ALL children’s products that were recalled in 2009.
What can you do to protect your children?
To help you find products for your children that are safe, there are a few steps you can take.
- Learn about children’s product safety and recalls. You can learn more about safety standards and sign up for up-to-date email alerts regarding product recalls at both www.KidsInDanger.org and www.cpsc.gov. Always fill out product registration cards so manufacturers can send recall information to you, if needed.
- Always check the products your children use. KID recommends that you take an inventory of the products used with children—at home, at childcare, and elsewhere—and check it against the list of recalls at www.cpsc.gov. Repeat the check every time your child receives a new product, gift, or hand-me-down.
- Report any injuries or problems with products to both the manufacturer and CPSC.
- Tell others about safety hazards. If you hear of a product recall, let your friends and family know.
- Know what to look for. The CPSC offers these guidelines for evaluating children’s clothing products before you buy them.
This article is based on information provided in the Kids in Danger 2009 annual product recall report entitled: The Year of the Nursery Product Recall, as well as information found on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
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