Baby Bracelets and Pacifier Clips Recalled Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

Allreds Design Baby Bracelets and Pacifier Clips, sold at resale stores and other consignment retailers nationwide, have been recalled due to bracelets and pacifier clip clasps containing high levels of lead. Allreds Design received one report of a 10-month-old child who was poisoned and treated by a physician for elevated lead levels. For additional information, please contact Allreds Design toll-free at (866) 695-3551 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

CPSC Day at the ICPHSO symposium- Speech by Chairman Tenenbaum

It's a new day at CPSC. With a new chairman, Inez Tenenbaum, appointed in June 2009 and the greater resources and authority through the CPSIA passed in 2008, CPSC is "now turning to a fresh page and scripting our own future" in the words of Chairman Tenenbaum today in a speech at the International Consumer Product Health & Safety (ICPHSO) meeting. Tenenbaum spoke forcefully about the agency's dedication to improving product safety, implementing the CPSIA and protecting American consumers, especially children. Here are a few excerpts and you can read the full speech here.

"I say the state of product safety in the United States in strong and getting stronger."

"When you look at where we have been and where we are headed, you can see why we are agency on the rise. You can see it in the determination of CPSC staff

working in the marketplace to catch unscrupulous makers and sellers of children's clothing with drawstrings,

working late into the night to complete new rules on tracking labels and product registration cards, and

working on weekends to stop online auctions of recalled products."

"I have seen CPSC's crib safety experts step up and say now is our time. Now is the time to create a state-of-the-art crib standard and not let special interests hijack the process. And thanks to the work of CPSC staff - with a little encouragement from me to ASTM - we are now on the right path to creating a safer sleep environment for our most vulnerable consumers."

"I will continue to have an open door in the year ahead. But I am looking to work with people who come to the table with solutions and creative approaches to safety, not those who delay progress or fail to respond quickly to problems."

"We at CPSC are not a tired agency, but tireless in our pursuit of safety. We at CPSC are not subsumed by unintended consequences, but consumed with matters of consequence.""To honor the families who have lost their children like the Lineweavers, Davis', Keysars, and hundreds of other families, we must make every child's sleep environment a fortress of safety.

While we are on the subject of cribs, I have a message for manufacturers, a message that actually applies to makers of any consumer product. I say no more to the tired tactic of blaming parents in the press when CPSC announces a recall that involves a death.

Take responsibility and show respect to the grieving family, yes, even if they are pursuing litigation. Those who tread into this arena when CPSC has found your product to be defective will be called out."

Kids In Danger applauds this new CPSC and looks forward to working together for safer products for children.

International safety meeting in DC this week

This week, product safety experts from around the globe will gather for a weeklong symposium in Washington DC. The International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) is unique in that it brings together experts from consumer organizations (Rachel Weintraub of Consumer Federation of America is the group's outgoing President), industry, testing labs, regulatory bodies and others interested in product safety.

The meeting starts Monday with International Day, looking at recall effectiveness and information sharing internationally. Tuesday's workshops include those on social responsibility and business ethics, environmental and chemical issues, new research and more. Wednesday is "CPSC" day -- invaluable for those interested in CPSC's current activities or implementation of CPSIA -- and the conference ends Thursday with a Consumer Product Safety Law Seminar and CPSC compliance workshop for beginners.

KID will be attending -- check our Twitter or Facebook pages for updates.

Deadly Generation 2, ChildESIGNS cribs recalled

CPSC announced the recall today of at least 500,000 cribs sold under the Generation 2 or ChilDesign labels. The company is now out of business, so CPSC doesn't have specific numbers of cribs, but knows of at least three deaths. The crib's hardware fails presenting both drop-side and mattress support failures and entrapments. Here is information from their release:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing the recall of all Generation 2 Worldwide and “ChildESIGNS” drop side cribs. CPSC is warning parents and caregivers who own these drop side cribs that infants and toddlers are at risk of serious injury or death due to strangulation and suffocation hazards presented by the cribs. CPSC staff urges parents and caregivers to stop using these cribs immediately and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Do not attempt to fix these cribs.

The crib’s plastic hardware can break which can cause the drop side of the crib to detach from a corner of the crib. When the drop side detaches, it creates a space into which an infant or toddler can roll and become wedged or entrapped. When a child is entrapped between the drop side and the crib mattress, it creates a risk of suffocation or strangulation. In addition, the crib’s mattress support can detach from the crib frame, creating a hazardous space in which an infant or toddler could become entrapped and suffocate or strangle.

CPSC has received reports of three infants who suffocated when they became entrapped between the crib mattress and the drop side when the drop side detached. In July 2007, an eight month old child from Newark, Ohio suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop side and the crib mattress. The drop side of his crib had detached due to a broken plastic stop tab on the lower track. In October 2003, an eight month old child from Richmond, Ind. suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop side and the crib mattress. The plastic hardware on the drop side was broken and allowed the drop side to detach from the crib headboard in one corner. In September 2002, a six month old from Staunton, Va. suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop side and crib mattress. The lower drop side track was missing two screws which allowed it to pull away from the headboard post and detach.

CPSC has also received reports of 20 other drop side incidents, 12 of which involved the drop side detaching in a corner of the crib. In two of these incidents, a child became entrapped. One child suffered bruising from the entrapment. There are five reports of children falling out of the cribs due to drop side detachment. One child suffered a broken arm as a result of the fall.

In addition, CPSC has received 8 reports of mattress support detachment in these cribs. Due to the space created by the detachment, three children became entrapped between the crib frame and the sagging mattress and four children crawled out of the crib. There was one report of cuts and bruises.

The name “Generation 2 Worldwide” appears on a label affixed to the crib’s headboard or footboard. Some labels identify the place of manufacture as Dothan, Ala. Others identify China as the country of manufacture. The name “ChildESIGNS” appears on the teething rail of some of the cribs.

The recalled cribs were sold at numerous local furniture and retail stores including Buy Buy Baby, and Kmart and Walmart stores nationwide for between $60 and $160. Consumers should contact the store from which they purchased the crib for remedy information, which will vary between a refund, replacement crib or store credit, depending on the retailer. Consumers are urged to contact CPSC and report any difficulties in obtaining a remedy from their place of purchase.

Important Message from CPSC:

CPSC would like to remind parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop-side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.

For more information on Crib Safety, visit CPSC's Crib Information Center.

New York State considers ban on drop-side cribs

On Feb 3rd, New York State Senator Charles J. Fuschillo and his fellow co-sponsors, Senators Saland and Skelos, held a public forum on a proposed ban on drop-side cribs. Parents, pediatricians and child safety experts were all in attendance.

Thanks to the continued activism of Susan and Robert Cirigliano, who lost their child Bobby in a drop-side in 2004, three New York counties have already implemented a ban. If the bill is passed, New York would be the first state to directly prohibit the sale of drop-sides. Others states with the Children's Product Safety Act prohibit the sale of cribs that don't meet current voluntary safety standards, which in effect bans drop-side designs in those states.

"I think that what's happening in New York shows what parents throughout the whole country feel", said Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of Kids In Danger. "They're thinking 'enough is enough'. There have been too many recalls and too many deaths, and they're expecting immediate change."

Drop-sides, with one side that moves up and down for easy access, continue to claim the lives of children. In most cases, faulty hardware, poor design or misassembly lead to a failure of one corner of the crib side -- leading to an entrapment hazard. Their threat is undeniable: just in the last three years seven million have been recalled, responsible for at least a dozen deaths.

It seems, however, that finally serious actions are being taken. Besides the admirable efforts of New York, the ASTM (an industry standards body) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have signaled that a nationwide ban might be in place by the end of the year.

If you are interested in seeing drop-side cribs banned in your state or the broader protections of the Children's Product Safety Act, contact KID.

For more information on crib safety, please visit the CPSC's Crib Info Center or Kids In Danger.