Carter’s Tag-less Infant Clothing Safety Advisory

By FRED MAMOUN and ANA GARCIA

Updated 10:32 AM PST, Mon, Oct 27, 2008

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Ana Garcia: The government has taken action in response to one of our consumer investigations. Last month we reported a Long Beach family claimed their baby developed a rash after wearing certain Carter’s baby clothes. Several of you emailed and called me saying your babies had similar rashes.

After our report aired the Consumer Product Safety Commission said they would look into the matter. Today the Commission issued a warning to parents.

Ana Garcia: The Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington today issued this advisory to parents about these tag-less labels in some Carter’s baby clothes. The plastic labels that look like postage stamps have apparently caused rashes in a small percentage of babies. The rashes look like this and have been located mostly on the upper back, below the neck where the label meets the skin.

Amy Muir: The pajamas were stuck to the skin and back of his neck. I started to pull and the skin came off with his pajamas.

Ana Garcia: Amy and Jason Muir of Long Beach say their son Cooper had a mysterious rash for most of the summer.

Amy Muir: I started to cry…could be the pj’s caused such a wound on his back? It was terrifying to me

Ana Garcia: One of the worst looking cases we found came from a parent in New Jersey who posted this photo of her daughter’s rash on this blog….other websites and messages boards describe dozens of similar complaints in other states.

Ana Garcia: Despite these Internet postings, the Consumer Product Safety Commission told us we were the first to alert them about the problem….and that was more than a month ago.

Carter’s, however, had already been receiving complaints and said it had pinpointed the problem to the Fall 2007 line. Carter’s says it’s received fewer than four reported rashes for every 1million of these products sold

Ana Garcia: I found the clothes still for sale at the Carter’s stores in Long Beach and Canoga Park as of a few weeks ago. The Muirs ask if the problem is from 2007, why is the advisory coming out a year later?

Amy Muir: : This clothing was purchased in the spring and summer of 2008.

Ana Garcia: On Carter’s own website-the company says these rashes are nothing beyond rare allergic reactions to an otherwise safe product. Carter’s says their products meet the highest safety and quality standards and are complaint with all laws and regulations.

Ana Garcia: The advisory pertains to these solid plastic labels….NOT the ones with stenciled backgrounds. The clothes in question were made in several countries but the Muir’s say the ones that bothered their baby were made in China.

Ana Garcia: The government says to “stop wearing the garments if rashes persist or worsen.” Carter’s says it will refund your money if you send them the clothes…but the company was clear: there’s NO recall because they believe the problem is limited.

We have links to the advisory and details of which clothes are affected on our website: KNBC.com