CPSC Recall on Jardine Cribs

In what is becoming an all too common occurrence, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced another recall involving infant cribs. The manufacturer of the cribs is Jardine Cribs, and the first recall was in June of 2008, affecting 320,000 cribs. The CPSC has now added another 56,450 cribs. The cribs were sold at KidsWorld, Geoffrey Stores, Toys "R" Us, and Babies "R" Us stores nationwide, and at Babies "R" Us.com, from March 2004 through January 2009 for between $220 and $330. The problem with the cribs is that the side rails can break, creating a gap for the infant to potentially fall through or be strangled in. Consumers have reported that their infant or toddler has broken the slat while in the crib! These cribs were made in China.
 

Many of you will recall last year's crib recall involving over 600,000 Simplicity cribs. These cribs had a problem with the side rail coming off track, creating a gap that the infant or toddler could become trapped in. These cribs were made in China as well.

I was involved in suing one of the largest child product manufacturers in the United States several years ago, involving a crib. Problems with the crib developed as a result of efforts by the manufacturer to decrease costs in the manufacture of the crib, without analyzing the potential safety risks. The company ended up paying a large fine to the CPSC as a result of reporting violations with the CPSC. The case settled for a confidential amount. I have not handled cases involving these latest manufacturers but it would be interesting to find out what, if any, product testing and evaluation was done by the manufacturers or importers. An obvious motivation for having products made in China is their relative cost compared to products manufactured here the United States. Many have suggested that quality and durability are sacrificed with these low cost imports. From many of the Chinese made products I have seen, I have to agree.

What can you do to determine if a product is safe? The first thing I would recommend would be to get on the internet to see if the product has been reviewed by any type of consumer group. The second thing I would do is to visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website to research the product and the manufacturer, to see if there are any warnings or recalls out. Many people have complained that the CPSC has been slow to act or to expand recalls, so you may find the item you are checking on is nearly identical to an item currently being recalled. Be very careful when purchasing children's items from yard sales, Ebay or used children's items stores. I have personally seen many recalled items still for sale on these venues, and in fact bought two of the recalled cribs that I needed as exemplars for my crib case off of EBay, and after the highly publicized recall!!!! Lastly, if the item looks and feels cheap, it probably is. In years of doing this work, just because a manufacturer or retailer is selling the item, does not mean that anyone has done any type of testing or safety evaluation of the product!! Many people are surprised to learn that the CPSC does not evaluate all toys or children's product for sale in the United States. Currently, no organization in the United States does that. Essentially, manufacturers are charged with policing themselves. Only when the CPSC receives complaints about a product, do they become involved.