Biggest Children’s Product Recalls in 2020

Kids In Danger (KID), a nonprofit organization dedicated to product safety, recently released their annual “Tracking Trends” report to the public. This report analyzes every children’s product recall from the past year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For the year 2020, KID notes the highest recalls came from infant inclined sleepers, furniture tip-over risks, and lead-tainted products.

KID has been releasing their annual Tracking Trends report since 2002. Their current report focuses on 2020 recalls, explaining how the recall process works when an unsafe product makes its way onto the market:

A recall can start with the report of an incident or injury to the CPSC by a consumer, the report of an unsafe product to the CPSC by the manufacturer of the product, or media coverage of a potentially dangerous product. If an injury or incident was reported, the CPSC uses this information to help decide if a product should be recalled, considering the severity of the incident or injury and how likely it is to reoccur.

What children’s products were recalled in 2020?

According to the report, overall, the CPSC issued 256 recalls last year. Sixty-three of these recalls were for children’s products, which was an 8.6 percent increase in recalls from 2019. From those 63 recalls, KID broke it down into specific units – 8,790,880. The top three products:

• Contigo Kids Cleanable Water Bottles (5,700,000 units)
• IKEA’s KULLEN 3-Drawer Chest (820,000 units)
• Beverly Hills’ 6” Plush Aflac Promotional Doctor Duck (635,500 units)

Nursery product recalls also topped the list, with 16 recalls. Six of these included inclined sleepers. Another big recall was for furniture tip-over hazards, with 14 product recalls in the children’s furniture category, and 11 specifically recalled for tip-over dangers. And, although 2019 saw only one children’s product recall for lead, last year nine were recalled for dangerous levels.

“Unstable furniture, toys and other children’s products with lead, and dangerous sleep products were still on the market in 2020 and had to be recalled,” stated Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of KID. “And from what we see of recall effectiveness efforts by CPSC and the recalling companies, most of them are likely still in homes. We need to set stronger mandatory standards to keep dangerous products off the market and strengthen CPSC to get them out of our homes and child care facilities.”

“The CPSC and recalling companies need to prioritize recall effectiveness”

Another factor KID analyzed was how much the CPSC and companies utilized social media platform to alert consumers about dangerous products and recalls. And, they found that this usage was quite low. Regarding children’s product recalls, the CPSC posts on social media were only:

• Facebook – 49%
• Twitter – 49%
• Instagram – 10%

The usage for recalling companies is even lower:

• Facebook – 43%
• Twitter – 29%
• Instagram – 21%

One of the recommendations from the report includes prioritizing “recall effectiveness. Every recall should be posted on social media to increase recall effectiveness in addition to other measures to increase the likelihood recalled products are removed from use.”

April Janney, President and CEO of Illinois Action for Children, agrees. “This report demonstrates a clear need to inform and educate parents, providers, and the general public about children’s product safety. KID's findings show that companies and the CPSC need to more effectively issue product recall notices, with a particular focus on meeting parents and providers where they are in 2021—on social media.”

If you want to stay updated on recalls or injury reports about your child’s toys and products, you can check SaferProducts.gov or KidsInDanger.org.

If your child is injured by a defective product, you can consult with an experienced and compassionate attorney at Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. to find out your rights. We hold negligent companies accountable when they take risks with your child’s life. To schedule a free consultation about your case, give our Maryland offices a call at 410-730-7737 or use our contact form.