Highest Number of Nursery Product Recalls in Over a Decade and First Water Beads Recall Since 2013

For Immediate Release: March 27, 2024

Contact: Dev Gowda, [email protected]

Chicago, IL – Today, Kids In Danger (KID) released a new report, Recall Radar: Nursery Product Recalls in 2023 Highest in Over a Decade, analyzing children’s products recalls in 2023. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled 26 nursery products. Eleven of these recalls and 20 additional warnings were due to suffocation hazards because the products violated various federal safety regulations for infant sleep products that recently went into effect. The CPSC recalled a water bead product for the first time since 2013, after an infant death was reported. Often sold as toys, in craft kits, or marketed as sensory tools for children, water beads are small, water-absorbing, colorful balls of super absorbent polymer and can grow up to 100 times their original size when exposed to water or ingested.

KID’s report last year found that zero children’s product recalls were translated to Spanish and KID called on the agency to translate recall press releases to alert the U.S.’s Spanish-speaking population to recalled products. The CPSC has started to translate recall press releases into Spanish. In 2023, 64% of children’s products recalls were translated into Spanish. This is a step in the right direction for the agency.

“Children’s product recalls are the highest in a decade,” said Dev Gowda, KID Deputy Director. “While this could be an indication the CPSC is working as intended and is recalling dangerous products effectively, policymakers should increase funding for the agency so it can adequately protect our families from unsafe products.”

“I’m grateful to Kids In Danger for compiling this report and their tireless dedication to protecting our children,” said Congressman Frank Pallone, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. “Water beads have been a central focus of mine this past year and I strongly support CPSC’s actions and efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of these products. I’ve been encouraged by the significant progress we’ve made with retailers removing water beads from their shelves in recent months. In Congress, I’m working to pass the Ban Water Beads Act to ensure water beads are no longer marketed for kids. I’m hopeful that we’ll continue this momentum as we work together to protect our nation’s children from dangerous products.”

“Consumers deserve to know that the products they purchase for themselves and for their kids are safe. The latest report from Kids In Danger (KID) emphasizes that more must be done to ensure the safety of children’s products,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce (IDC), which has authority over consumer protection matters. “According to KID’s report, a number of nursery products still pose a suffocation threat to our kids, and choking hazards remain a top concern for many products marketed to children. These dangers are unacceptable. We can and must act now. We need companies to do more to make sure customers are aware when a hazardous product has been recalled. We need online retailers to take additional steps to ensure the products they sell on their platforms are safe. And we need to robustly fund the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is working hard to protect our kids, and pass the Sunshine in Product Safety Act and the Consumer Advocacy and Protection Act to give the CPSC the power to hold companies who market dangerous products accountable. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to pass pro-consumer legislation that keeps Americans, especially our children, safe.”

Additional findings of the report include:

• The CPSC released 35 warnings regarding children’s products or adult products that could hurt children in 2023, much higher than in 2022 (five warnings). Of these warnings, 20 were for infant sleep products that were recalled due to violating standards, 12 for small powerful magnet products, two for outdoor and sports products, and one for a chemical product that failed to meet child-resistant packaging requirements.
• The report found that there were six deaths reported before a product was recalled. Three deaths were due to choking hazards (two toys and one candy), one was due to ingestion hazards from a water beads product, and two were due to fire hazards from a lithium-ion battery in a scooter/hoverboard product.
• There were two recalls and 12 unilateral notifications for small powerful magnet products. These products failed to comply with a CPSC federal standard that went into effect in December 2022
• Social media usage by the CPSC and recalling companies to alert consumers about recalled products remained low. The CPSC posted 44% of children’s product recalls on Facebook and 45% on Twitter. However, the CPSC has increased its Instagram use from 34% to 46%.

“As an Injury Prevention professional, I have spent my career educating parents about how to keep their children safe,” said Amy Hill, MPH, Director Unintentional Prevention Programs, Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities. “In our fast-paced world, there are always new children’s products developed and marketed to families. Unfortunately, some of these products have injured or killed children. The Recall Radar report keeps me informed so I can give the most up to date safety education to families.”

“KID’s report highlights the need for recalling companies and the CPSC to ensure that when children’s products are recalled, parents and caregivers are notified so that they are removed from homes,” said Abe Scarr, Director of Illinois PIRG Education Fund. “All too often, word of a recall never reaches a family and they continue to use a hazardous product.”

KID recommends the following:

• The CPSC should continue to issue unilateral notifications to consumers about a hazardous product when the company does not agree to a recall, and make every effort to get dangerous products recalled.
• Policymakers should ban the sale of water beads marketed to children, and the CPSC should recall those involved in injuries and deaths.
• Policymakers should implement a strong mandatory safety standard governing lithium-ion batteries in micro-mobility products.
• Policymakers should provide adequate funding for the CPSC to fulfill its mission.
• Recalling companies must use all tools at their disposal to retrieve recalled products.
• Online platforms should strengthen efforts to ensure all products sold on their sites are safe, meet any required standards and adequately warn consumers about product hazards.
• Parents and caregivers should report product incidents to the CPSC at gov and subscribe to KID’s newsletter to receive a monthly recall digest at www.kidsindanger.org.

Read the full report here.

Founded in 1998, Kids In Danger (KID) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by fighting for product safety. KID’s mission is to save lives by enhancing transparency and accountability through safer product development, better education, and stronger advocacy for children. www.kidsindanger.org.