Body Boards Recalled by JGR Copa Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: 18” Kick Body Boards

Units: About 900

Importer: JGR Copa LLC, of Hollywood, Fla.

Hazard: The green surface coating of the screened logo “Big Lizard™ body boards” on the underside of the body board contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves the 18” Kick Body Board. The boards have various designs on the front including peace signs, white hibiscus, or yellow smiley face. A green lizard and “Big Lizard™ body boards” are printed on the underside in green.

Sold at: Beachwear Outlet, Bargain Beachwear, Beach Village Inc., FJ Health & Beauty, Mor USA Inc., Shipwreck-Ocean Jewels, Walmart and Wilcor International Inc. from January 2009 through May 2009 for about $4.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumer should take the recalled body boards away from children immediately and return them to place of purchase or contact JGR Copa for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call JGR Copa at (800) 345-4408 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.jgrcopa.com

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Tags: JGR Copa, Lead Paint Standard

Macy’s Recalls Children’s Hooded Sweatshirts Due to Strangulation Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Epic Threads and Greendog Hooded Sweatshirts

Units: About 33,000

Importer: Macy’s Merchandising Group Inc., of New York, N.Y.

Hazard: The sweatshirts have a drawstring sewn at the base of the hood which can pose a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines (pdf) to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist drawstrings in upper garments, such as jackets or sweatshirts.

Incidents/Injuries: No injuries reported.

Description: This recall includes boys and girls Epic Threads sweatshirts and girls Greendog sweaters with nonfunctional ties in numerous styles. The Epic Threads sweatshirts are white, gray, maroon, yellow, blue, green, and black, with images on the front and/or back. The girls Greendog sweaters are brown and gray. Only sizes small and medium are subject to the recall.

Sold at: Macy’s stores nationwide from July 2008 through March 2009 for between $32 and $50.

Manufactured in: China, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the ties from the sweatshirts to eliminate the hazard, or return the garment to any Macy’s for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Macy’s toll-free at (888) 257-5949 between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit Macy’s website at www.macys.com

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Tags: Macy's

Mattel, Fisher-Price to Pay $2.3 Million Civil Penalty for Violating Federal Lead Paint Ban
Penalty is highest ever for CPSC regulated product violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As part of its commitment to protecting the safety of children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Mattel Inc., of El Segundo, Calif. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fisher-Price Inc., of East Aurora, N.Y. have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for violating the federal lead paint ban.

The penalty settlement, which has been provisionally accepted by the Commission, resolves CPSC staff allegations that Mattel and Fisher-Price knowingly (as defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act) imported and sold children’s toys with paints or other surface coatings that contained lead levels that violated a 30-year-old federal law. In 1978, a federal ban was put in place which prohibited toys and other children’s articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead (by weight) in paints or surface coatings. In 2007, about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Price toy models were determined to have exceeded this limit. Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health consequences.

This civil penalty, which is the highest for violations involving importation or distribution in commerce of a regulated product and is the third highest of any kind in CPSC history, settles the following allegations:

• Mattel imported up to 900,000 non-compliant toys between September 2006 and August 2007, including the “Sarge” toy car and numerous Barbie accessory toys, and distributed most of them to its retail customers for sale to U.S. consumers. The “Sarge” car was recalled in August 2007 and the Barbie toys were recalled in September 2007.
• Fisher-Price imported up to 1.1 million non-compliant toys between July 2006 and August 2007, including certain licensed character toys and the Bongo Band, GEOTRAX locomotive, and Go Diego Go Rescue Boat toys. Most of these toys were distributed to retail stores for sale to consumers. The licensed character toys were recalled in August 2007, the Bongo Band and GEO TRAX toys were recalled in September 2007, and the Go Diego Go Boat toys were recalled in October 2007.

“These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur Congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even stricter the ban on lead paint on toys,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Thomas Moore. “This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safety of children, to reducing their exposure to lead, and to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.”

This settlement also resolves other potential matters. In agreeing to the settlement, Mattel and Fisher-Price deny that they knowingly violated federal law, as alleged by CPSC staff.

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Tags: Fisher Price, Matel

Bugaboo Recalls Strollers Due to Risk of Brake Failure

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Bugaboo Bee Strollers

Units: About 22,500

Distributor: Bugaboo North America Inc., of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Manufacturer: Bugaboo Design & Sales, B.V., of the Netherlands

Hazard: One or both sides of the brakes can fail, causing a stroller to unexpectedly roll away on an incline. This can pose a risk of injury to the child occupant.

Incidents/Injuries: Bugaboo has received 121 reports of the stroller’s brakes failing. No injuries have been reported.

Description: Bugaboo Bee strollers have item code 580210 on a label on the back of the seat and item code 50100 on a label on the plastic support under the seat. The strollers were sold in blue, dark khaki, pink, red, yellow, and black. “bugaboo® bee” is printed on the left side of the seat.

Sold at: Juvenile product retailers nationwide and on various Web sites from August 2007 through April 2009 for about $530.

Manufactured in: Taiwan

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the strollers immediately and contact Bugaboo to receive a free repair kit. To order the bracket kit, go to www.bugaboo.com and fill in the special order form or contact Bugaboo customer service.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Bugaboo at (800) 460-2922 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, visit the firm’s Web site at www.bugaboo.com, or email the firm at bugaboobee-service@bugaboo.com

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Tags: Brake Failure

Outdoor Play Sets Sold Exclusively at Toys“R”Us Recalled by Step2® Due to Fall Hazard; Swings Can Break

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Step2 Play Up Gym play sets

Units: About 4,300

Manufacturer: The Step2 Company LLC, of Streetsboro, Ohio

Hazard: The triangular hangers that attach the swing’s ropes to the upper rail of the play set can break, posing a fall hazard to children.

Incidents/Injuries: Step2 has received 17 reports of hangers breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Step2 Play Up Gym play sets. The recalled outdoor play sets include a platform, climber, slide area and two swings and have a model number of 797300. A red “Step2” logo plate is attached to the front of the play set. Play sets that have hangers with white plastic bushings are not subject to this recall.

Sold at: Toys“R”Us stores nationwide from January 2009 through April 2009 for about $400.

Manufactured in: China (hanger component), United States (play set)

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled play sets and contact Step 2 to receive a set of replacement hangers and instructions.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Step2 at (800) 347-8372 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.step2.com

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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.