Update: After receiving CR’s letter, Dorel Juvenile Group informed CR that the three models identified in CR’s letter were discontinued and have not been available for sale, and that all sleep products the company currently sells meet the ASTM International safety standard for bassinets and cradles (a standard that does not permit a back angle greater than ten degrees).
In addition, after receiving CR’s letter, Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) informed CR that the model identified in CR’s letter was not designed, manufactured, or distributed by SSB, but rather distributed previously by a company unaffiliated with SSB that was licensed to use the Serta trademark. SSB also informed CR that the company does not manufacture or distribute any inclined sleepers.
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Consumer Reports strongly urges your company to immediately recall its infant inclined sleep products. More than one year since Fisher-Price and Kids II’s recalls of over 5 million inclined sleepers, six other manufacturers also have issued recalls for this type of product, which is now linked to at least 92 infant deaths. Your company should join their ranks and recall its infant inclined sleepers.
Your company’s failure to recall its inclined sleepers would leave infants at risk and muddle critical recommendations for consumers around safe infant sleep practices. Infant inclined sleep products are not safe for infant sleep, according to American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations, a government-commissioned study, and the harrowing experiences of families nationwide. We call on you to take immediate action to eliminate infant inclined sleep products from the marketplace. This action would be in line with your responsibilities to your customers and consistent with the proposal by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to effectively prohibit these sleepers.
Consumers reasonably expect manufacturers to design and offer products that are safe, and to remove all hazardous products from the market. According to a 2019 Consumer Reports nationally representative survey, more than 90 percent of Americans say that “feeling a product or service is safe and will not cause them or their family members physical harm” is one of their high or top priorities. Putting safety first is critical to securing consumers’ trust and sending the clearest messages to parents and caregivers about safe infant sleep practices. However, over the last year, some companies have attempted to keep infant inclined sleeper models on the market through minor marketing changes. These inclined sleepers remain on the market rebranded as “loungers,” “rockers,” or similar products, but with little or no change to their designs, and with confusing warning labels advising against using the product for “prolonged” or “unattended” sleep. This practice is fundamentally unreasonable and unacceptable because any duration of sleep at an incline puts babies at risk.
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Your company must acknowledge the serious risks that inclined sleepers pose to infants, with expert research and numerous tragedies making the danger clear. We strongly urge your company to take action right away to recall its inclined sleepers, and ensure that all future infant sleep products it produces adhere to the strong, mandatory safety standards for bassinets, cribs, or play yards.
Your urgent action is critical to infant safety. We request a response from you no later than Thursday, May 14.
For the full letters, click here.