Strollerderby : Consumer Product Safety Commission

Infantino Toys Recalled

Amy Kuras — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:27:00 GMT

I’m a bit late in getting to this, but better late than never: Infantino has issued a voluntary recall of some of its baby toys because of a choking hazard.

The toys are the Infantino Little Chef Set, the Activity Stacker, and the Tag-Along Chime Trio. Around 172,000 of them were sold from June 2007 through February of 2009 in the US and about 12,000 were sold in Canada. US retailers include Babies R Us, Target, Wal-Mart, and Meijer stores.

Metallic fabric on the toys can detach, posing a choking hazard, although no injuries have been reported. If you have the toys in your house, take them away from your kids and contact Infantino at (888) 808-3111 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday, or visit www.infantino.com. They are offering a free replacement toy.

Check out the press release from the US Consumer Product and Safety Commission and Health Canada here. The press release also has photos of all three recalled toys.

Things Fall Apart: Simplicity Bassinets Recall Still Expanding, Awkwardly

Miriam Axel-Lute — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:30:00 GMT

Amazing how complicated it can be to identify an unsafe bassinet and get kids out of them. It was late August when the Consumer Products Safety Commission first issued a safety alert warning caregivers not to use Simplicity 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 "close sleeper" bassinets, because when the fabric is detached to place it in "cosleeper" mode and not reattached properly, there is a gap under a metal bar that babies can slip under and strangle.

This was a clear danger, directly responsible for two infant deaths (one of which ocurred nearly a year before the safety alert, which has also raised some eyebrows). So you get them off the market pronto, right?

Enter the complications: First, Simplicity went out of business, and SFCA, the company that bought it, get this, bought only its assets, but not its liabilities. Sweet deal, huh? Sound like a certain Wall Street bailout to you? Anyhow, SFCA assumes no responsibility, and won't issue a recall, so the CPSC has been having to do it piecemeal with retailers.

Meanwhile, it took until late September for someone to figure out that the exact same products were being sold under the Graco and Disney brands as well, and those ought to be included in the recalls.

And then they realized that it was only older models that had the problem, and newer ones have the fabric permanently attached and are fine. Oy vey. Consumer Reports has a video that shows the difference if you're not sure. And the news is still spreading, with one news report just yesterday.

In amongst all this, the ongoing bias against cosleeping (I'll have more on that in detail in a few days) rears its head again: This dangerous product got to market because no one has bothered to set specific safety standards for cosleeping products. And even Consumer Reports disappointingly turns around and in its video uses that as an excuse to recommend the use of regular cribs over cosleepers at all times, even though other cosleepers, and even the later models of this one, don't have this dangerous flaw. The problem here was, in the CPSC's words "metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under the federal crib safety standard," not being a cosleeper.

Two lessons for safe sleeping: Follow instructions carefully, and if something looks dangerous, don't wait for a manufacturer or the CPSC to tell you it really is.

More by this author:

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Congress Moves To Ban Phthalates, Despite Bush Opposition

Amy S.F. Lutz — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:36:00 GMT

You'd have to be living in a bubble not to know about the phthalate controversy - they're chemicals found in plastics, shampoos, fragances, moisturizers, and other consumer products, and recent studies have shown that high levels of phthalates can cause reproductive problems in males, as well as an increased risk of kidney and liver cancers.

Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Babies R Us have already announced that, effective January 2009, items containing phthalates will no longer be allowed in their stores. California, Washington and Vermont have enacted state-wide bans. Internationally, the European Union has prohibited many phthalates from children's goods since 1999. Now, Congress has included a ban on certain phthalates in children's toys in a new bill reforming the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

And boy, is the chemical industry pissed. Millions of dollars have been spent by Exxon Mobil - the manufacturer of one of the most common phthalates found in toys - over the past year and a half in an effort to prevent exactly this kind of ban from going into effect. At least Exxon can take comfort in knowing they bought at least one vote - President Bush has come out in opposition to Congress' act, although it's not clear whether or not he will go so far as to veto the measure.

Have you heard the logic used by both the Bush camp and the chemical industry lobby to explain why we should put up with these toxic chemicals?

Apparently, banning phthalates will INCREASE health risks to kids, because the chemicals manufacturers will have to replace them with may be even more dangerous! According to Keith Hennessey, director of Bush's Economic Policy Council, the ban "may result in the introduction of unregulated substitute chemicals that harm children's health."

Is that a threat? "Unregulated substitute chemicals"? I just can't believe the chemical industry would risk the financial and PR backlash that would occur if it turned out they replaced toxic additives with even more toxic additives. Imagine the lawsuits!

What we need, according to Senator Dianne Feinstein, who sponsored the ban, is to model our regulations after the Europeans, who require that manufacturers first prove a chemical is safe BEFORE it's allowed to inundate the market. Just a slight improvement over our current M.O., which involves discovering 50 years after their introduction that the chemicals added to virtually every piece of plastic crap in every house nationwide can act like hormones and cause low sperm count, undescended testicles and cancer.

Crocs: Ugly AND Dangerous?

Jen Chaney — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:02:00 GMT

At least, that's what a lawsuit filed by one Kentucky mom suggests. Okay, not the ugly part, but really, don't we all already agree on that?

Alison Cox Pregliasco of Louisville has filed a lawsuit against Crocs that holds the company responsible for injuries sustained by her three-year-old daughter. The girl was wearing a pair of Crocs while riding an escalator at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when one of her shoes got caught in the gears. The shoe got shredded, the skin on the girl's big toe was torn off and two of her toes got broken. Pregliasco is seeking $4 million in damages and accusing Crocs of marketing the shoes to kids even though they are aware of the dangers posed by the rubbery, holey clogs.

This isn't the first time Crocs have been deemed hazardous. Numerous similar incidents have been reported during the past couple of years, prompting the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a warning in May against wearning soft shoes on escalators. Consumer Reports also notes that Japan's Trade Ministry asked Crocs to redesign their shoes after complaints about -- Woah! Deja vu! -- children getting their feet caught in escalators. So this problem isn't unique to Pregliasco's daughter, which may add creedence to the suit.

Ultimately, though, it seems like this will come down to a question of who is really at fault. If Crocs are widely known for causing problems on escalators, who bears the responsibility for the girl getting hurt: The company who made them or the parent who lets her kids hop on to the moving stairway while wearing them? Guess a judge will have to decide.

Let's hope he also finally rules that adults should never, ever be seen in public while wearing Crocs because it violates all standards of aesthetic decency.

Things Fall Apart: Time to Upgrade Baby's Toy Cell Phone

Madeline Holler — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:01:00 GMT

Better go dig out all those toy cell phones your baby loves flipping open and shut. Because about a million of them are being recalled due to a choking hazard. The hinge cover on the toys, made in China, can become detached and be swallowed by a voracious toy-gummer.

The toy cell phones in question are Little Tikes Chit 'N Chat toy cell phones, distributed by the Kids Station Toys International Ltd. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the recall warning.

The agency and the toy firm have received three reports of the phone breaking and one report of a child beginning to choke on the detached part. They were sold at drug and toy stores between June 2006 and March 2008 for about $8 each or $20 a set.

If you have one of these phones and it does NOT have the screw in the back (see picture), the CPSC instructs you to take the phone away and contact Kids Station about a free replacement.

Contact Info: Kids Station toll-free at (888) 620-0930 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.kidsstationtoys.com

Photos: Reuters

Things Fall Apart: Toxic Kids' Jewelry and Razor-Sharp Toys Recalled

Karen Murphy — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:08:00 GMT

A lovely selection of toxic lead-filled jewelry has been announced for recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (why not bookmark their site today?). Why, oh why, do manufacturers insist on continuing to make jewelry intended for children chock-full of delicious and poisonous lead? These necklaces, thousands and thousands of them, mostly of the "mood" variety (check here and here and here for photos), were sold variously at dollar stores, carnivals, and at Claire's Boutiques. Refunds or replacements are available for any of these.

Even more disturbing is the "Cooky Staitonery [sic] Set" sold at northern California dollar stores that includes an oh-so-handy razor-blade cutter with erasers, markers, and pencils. Is there a country where children are routinely issued razor blades to write with? I thought not. If you are one of the "lucky" 360 families to own this, please take the razor away from your child (undoubtedly you have already done this) and you can return the set to the store for a refund.

I'm not done yet! Here's an item sold at Toys 'R Us nationwide, various "Elite Operations" military-style play sets containing light and sound vehicles, action figures and accessories, which also contain delicious toxic lead and have sharp edges that could cause lacerations. A two-fer! The sets were sold at Toys "R" Us stores nationwide and online from January 2006 through early February 2007 for between $15 and $30.

Toxic Lead Jewelry for Children? No, Thanks!

Karen Murphy — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:53:00 GMT

I have to wonder why companies insist on making products destined for children's use either out of toxic materials or flimsy chokable ones. How do these people stay in business?

Here are two more recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission: children's "Ultra Gear" bracelets and children's rings sold at Family Dollar Stores, made by two different companies who apparently didn't bother to read the manual on What Not to Make Children's Products From. If you own either product, you should stop using them immediately and contact the store where you got them or the manufacturer (see links) for a refund.