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Consumer Reports praises Amazon, Walmart, and Buy Buy Baby for banning infant inclined sleepers, calls again for immediate recalls by manufacturers

Companies join eBay in prohibiting the products, which are not safe for infant sleep; CR urges immediate action by Facebook, Craigslist, other retailers, and manufacturers to keep babies safe

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Consumer Reports today praised Amazon, Walmart, Buy Buy Baby, and two smaller retailers for banning infant inclined sleep products, including non-recalled sleepers. The companies’ new policies come after the Consumer Product Safety Commission advised people not to use the products and CR sent letters to retailers and online marketplaces urging their immediate removal. eBay told CR last week that it would keep the sleepers off its platform.

 

“Infant inclined sleepers aren’t safe for infant sleep, and now there’s enormous momentum to get them off the market entirely,” says William Wallace, CR’s manager of home and safety policy. “Every retailer and platform should remove these products immediately, including Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, which haven’t banned them despite eBay and Amazon doing so.”

 

Amazon posted a new policy on its website yesterday restricting infant inclined sleepers, and CPSC Acting Chairman Bob Adler announced today that Walmart and Buy Buy Baby were removing the products from their listings. Two smaller retailers, You Are My Everything and Albee Baby, also told CR they are taking steps to ensure they do not sell infant inclined sleep products.

 

In early November, CR President and CEO Marta Tellado sent letters to nine manufacturers and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) calling for immediate recalls of all infant inclined sleep products. In the letter, CR told the manufacturers there is strong evidence that infant inclined sleep products are inherently unsafe, including because they are linked to at least 73 infant deaths and because a CPSC-commissioned expert study found the products unsafe for infant sleep. Few individual manufacturers responded, while JPMA argued in a statement that “[t]oday’s data is insufficient to draw concrete conclusions on risks related to inclined sleepers.”

 

“Manufacturers of baby products should be embarrassed. They missed their chance to take the lead on protecting infants from unsafe sleep environments, and now retailers and platforms are stepping up in their absence,” said Oriene Shin, policy counsel for home and product safety at Consumer Reports.

 

“Manufacturers must open their eyes and show parents that they’ll always put infant safety first. What else are manufacturers waiting for? Recalling all inclined sleepers is not just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do to make sure customers trust them, remain loyal, and continue to buy their products,” Shin added.

 

Consumer Reports urges anyone with an inclined sleep product or accessory to immediately stop using it. American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep recommendations say that babies should be placed alone to bed on a firm, flat surface in their own space, with no extra bedding. All infant inclined sleep products and accessories conflict with that advice.

 

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Contact: David Butler, dbutler@consumer.org, 202-462-6262

 

Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.