March 2020 Consumer Product Recalls Analysis

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Recalls Analysis

There were 26 recall notices issued in March 2020 for consumer products, compared to a total of 19 recall notices in February of 2020. About 40% of the recalls (10 notices) were carried out by the CPSC in conjunction with Health Canada.

Poisoning accounted for eight out of 20 (40%) of recall notices, creating a noticeable trend of injury hazard. Three of the 8 recalls relating to the hazard of poison resulted from the lack of child-resistant packaging required for essential oils. There was also one recall notice each for children’s sleepwear, children’s footwear and toys.

Highlighted below are some of the recalls relevant for the hardlines and softlines industries:

March 2020 – Consumer Product Safety Commission
Product	Reason/Hazard(s)
Children’s Footwear – Winter Boots	The boots’ sole contains levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban
Children’s Sleepwear – Pajamas and Robes	The children’s garments fail to meet the federal flammability standard for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children
Furniture – Three Drawer Chest	The recalled chest is unstable if it is not anchored to the wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that may result in death or serious injuries to children
Furniture – Three Drawer Dressers	The recalled dressers are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in death or injuries to children
Household Items – Glass Pitcher	The handle on the pitcher can break, posing a laceration hazard
Toys – Children’s Tool Kits	The tool belt, hammer and suspenders contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead content standard; in addition, the toy goggles and hardhats do not meet toy safety requirements

Read more: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls

Health Canada Recalls Analysis

There were 17 recall notices issued in March 2020 for consumer products, whereas February 2020 saw 13 consumer product recalls by Health Canada.

There were three recalls for chemical products due to lack of bilingual labeling and hazard information; three recalls for electronic products for electric shock, fire or injury hazard; and two recalls each for appliance, furniture, and household Items. We’ve highlighted some of the recalls relevant for softlines and hardlines industries below.

March 2020 – Health Canada
Product	Reason/Hazard(s)
Children’s Products – Car Seat Adapter	In situations of overload, the car seat adapter can break, posing a fall hazard
Children’s Sleepwear – Pyjamas and Dressing Gowns	The products fail to meet the flammability requirements for children's sleepwear, posing a risk to children
Furniture – Three-Drawer Dresser	The dresser may tip-over if not anchored to the wall, posing a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in serious injury or death to children
Furniture – Three-Drawer Chest	The chest may tip-over if not anchored to the wall, posing a tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in serious injury or death to children
Household Items – Glass Pitcher	The glass handle of the product may break off, posing a laceration hazard
Household Items – Electric Glass Kettle	When the kettle is plugged in, the base of the kettle can overheat and the plastic on the electric cord can melt, posing burn or a fire hazard
Toys – Tool Kits	The recalled product contains lead in excess of allowable limits

EU RAPEX Recall Analysis

In March 2020, there were 81 relevant product recall alerts issued through the EU’s Rapid Alert System (RAPEX), a 30% decrease from the previous month. Toys (56%) accounted for the majority of the recalls, followed by clothing and fashion accessories (27%), childcare articles (7%), protective equipment (5%), hobby and sport equipment (4%) and kitchen equipment (1%). We’ve highlighted the recalled product categories and hazards below.

March 2020 – EU RAPEX
Product Categories	Reason/Hazard(s)
Childcare Articles	There were 6 recalls in April due to risk of injury from infant products, one for a safety gate, one for a travel cot and two for a high chair, the items do not omply with relevant safety standards and may result in injury; in addition, there was a recall on a child car seat that may cause injury and an additional recall on a baby soother that presents a choking hazard
Clothing and Fashion Accessories	The were 15 recalls as a result of drawstrings and embellishments that do not meet the requirements of EN 14682 and pose an entrapment hazard There were 12 chemical-related recalls due to non-compliance with the REACH requirements, including on footwear products: Chromium VI content on leather items – 4 Lead and Phthalate content on slippers – 1 Seven of the recalls were for jewellery items: Nickel release ofFjew – 4 Cadmium content in jewellery – 1 Lead and cadmium in jewellery – 1 (this item’s was content 87% cadmium and 1.6% lead) Lead, phthalates and SCCP content – 1
Hobby and Sports Equipment	The 3 recalls were due to chemical non-compliance, including recalls for two items (neoprene swimming products) that failed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) restrictions and a recall for excess lead in the solder of a LED light
Kitchen Equipment	There was a recall on a fruit cutter where the blade may become detached during use
Protective Equipment	Three of the recalls on protective equipment were high levels of chromium VI content in leather items; there was one recall on sunglasses which fail to comply with the requirements of EN ISO 12312
Toys	There were a total 45 recalls on toys products in March 26 of the recalls were due to small components that present choking hazards Most chemical failures were due to phthalate content in toy items (7 recalls), with 3 recalls for excess levels of lead in solder in battery-operated toys and one recall for n-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA) content in a ‘slime’ type toy; the remaining chemical recalls were for accessible batteries that pose both a choking and chemical hazard There were recalls for a toy scooter and a wooden toy that may cause injury and do not comply with EN 71-1 There was also one recall for a liquid filled toy where the liquid contains a high content of potential pathogens