For a related press release, click here.
In the interest of infant safety, Consumer Reports demands that your company immediately commit to removing all infant inclined sleep products and accessories from its online marketplace. It has been more than a year since the recall of more than five million Fisher-Price and Kids II inclined sleepers associated with infant deaths. Today, inclined sleepers are linked to the deaths of at least 92 infants. They 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 continue to strongly urge you to implement strict vetting systems to prevent the listing or sale of any of these products, whether or not the product has been recalled.
Last November, Consumer Reports sent your company a letter urging quick action in light of the evidence showing that inclined sleepers are not safe for infant sleep. In February, Consumer Reports President and CEO Marta Tellado sent you a private message to follow up on the importance of banning all inclined sleepers from its marketplace. In March, more than 10,000 consumers wrote you to push for the removal of infant inclined sleepers from your site. We are shocked and disappointed that these sleepers continue to be available on your online marketplace despite these entreaties. We implore you to change course now.
Your company lags far behind other major platforms and must catch up. For example, Amazon and eBay made a public commitment more than five months ago and have blocked infant inclined sleep products from being listed on their websites, showing that doing so is feasible. […] Despite the recalls of nine infant inclined sleeper models and high-profile warnings for parents and caregivers not to use any infant inclined sleep products, people continue to sell and buy these sleepers on your online marketplace. Recent searches on your platform for various locations in the United States make clear that infant inclined sleep products, recalled and not, are still readily available for sale.
Your company’s failure to keep infant inclined sleep products out of its online marketplace leaves people at risk of unwittingly listing or buying items that put infants in great danger. Some consumers have monitored your platform and alerted sellers about the recall of inclined sleepers. Your company must invest in safety now with strong new policies and practices. This should include a policy explicitly prohibiting users from offering infant inclined sleepers, warning them about the risks associated with these products, and far stricter review by your company of listings, including product images.
Your company has a responsibility to the millions of users who rely on your platform to acknowledge the serious risks that inclined sleepers pose to infants. Expert research and numerous tragedies make the danger clear. You must take action now by committing to ban and block these products from being listed in your marketplace.
Your urgent action is critical to infant safety. We request a response no later than Thursday, May 21.
For the full letters, click here.