Nearly half of the products (45%) recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2010 were children’s products, according to the advocacy group Kids In Danger. Nursery products were the most-recalled category at 29%, followed by clothing (mostly for drawstrings) at 28%. Nursery products and clothing surpassed toys in 2010 as the leading recalled product types. Toys had been the most recalled category from 2001-2008, with toy recalls declining from 41% of the total in 2008 to 21% in 2010.
There were 11 recalls of at least one million units, with McDonald’s recall of 12 million Shrek glasses tainted with cadmium as the largest single recall. Fisher-Price had five different recalls, Williams Sonoma brands — Pottery Barn Kids, Williams-Sonoma, and PBTeen — had five recalls. Graco and Step2 had three separate recalls each.
One in four children’s product recalls (24%) involved injuries prior to the recall, up from 17% in 2009. The government imposed a total $2.7 million in fines for companies that violated safety regulations, mostly for excessive lead in toys and drawstrings in children’s clothing. [Government/Toys]
Source: “Moving Towards Safety 2010,” Kids In Danger, Nancy Cowles, Executive Director, 116 W. Illinois St., #5E, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-595-0649; nancy@kidsindanger.org; www.kidsindanger.org.
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