Safety recalls of children’s products reach highest level in nearly a decade
Safety recalls of children’s products in 2022 were at their highest in nearly a decade, a new report found.
Advocates on Tuesday renewed calls for companies to be required to publicize product recalls.
The 100 recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2022 were the most issued since 2013, according to the report, “Hidden Hazards: 2022 Children’s Product Recalls.”
Among the findings:
◆ Four children were killed by products that were later recalled.
◆ Nineteen products were recalled for having excessive levels of lead, the most recalled in 10 years.
◆ Recalls doubled from a year earlier, to 32, for clothing that failed to meet federal flammability standards.
◆ Companies publicized less than half of child product recalls on social media.
The report by advocacy group Kids in Danger “is a wake-up call,” U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said Tuesday at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Schakowsky plans to reintroduce a bill in Congress to empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission to unilaterally make and publicize recalls without a company’s permission.
Current law is “putting corporations before children,” Schakowsky said. Her bill is called the Sunshine in Product Safety Act.
Nancy Cowles, Kids in Danger executive director, said recalls may be rising due to better diligence by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission. But she said she’s also finding more recalled products still for sale, especially on online marketplaces.
Only 10% to 13% of recalled children’s products have been returned, she said. Cowles urged companies to publicize all product recalls.
Companies “must use all the tools at their disposal to retrieve products: Social media ... repeated direct notification of consumers they know who purchased a product,” Cowles said. “They need to market recalls to the same extent they marketed what turned out to be unsafe products.”
Of the four deaths from recalled products last year, two children asphyxiated after unzipping and entering the Pillowfort Weighted Blankets, the report found. One child was strangled by the restraint straps of the 4moms MammaRoo Baby Swing. Another child was killed when a Goalsetter Wall-Mounted Basketball Goal detached and fell.
“Children’s products are safer than ever, thanks to decades of advocacy ... but there’s definitely much more we can do to keep our children safe,” said Abe Scarr, director of the consumer advocacy group Illinois PIRG.
He said he’s seen several recalled products for sale on Facebook Marketplace. He called on the company and others to identify and label those recalled products.
April Janney, CEO of Illinois Action for Children, said she was alarmed by the increase in recalls for lead levels. Lead exposure has documented ill effects on children 5 years old and younger.
Cowles urged companies to consider the ways their products will be used in the home and design them to eliminate hazards.
“That perfect use of a product is really just a myth,” she said. “Companies need to think about ‘How do I design the hazards out?’ Rather than increase my list of warnings to consumers so they can use it more safely,” Cowles said.
Parents can report unsafe products and search for recalls at saferproducts.gov.