Major review of children's safety standards needed

Major review of children's safety standards needed

A staggering 33 percent of nursery products Consumer NZ has tested in the past five years have had faults Consumer considers to be serious. It is now calling for a major review of safety standards for children's products.

Chief executive Sue Chetwin said this year alone five out of nine portable highchairs tested had major safety faults that meant a child could fall out of the chair. Two out of eight highchairs last year failed safety tests - one toppled sideways and the other fell backwards when weight was applied, she said.

"Three out of six portable cots in our 2007 test had a major fault that meant a child's head could be trapped or its clothing snagged, causing strangulation. In 2008 we reported on an incident where a baby had been trapped between the base of a portable cot and the mattress. If the mother hadn't found her in time, the baby might have suffocated."

"There are no mandatory safety standards for any of these products. Voluntary standards have been developed for strollers, highchairs and portable cots which some manufacturers follow. But there is no organisation which routinely monitors compliance." And tests carried out by Australian consumer organisation Choice also raise doubts about whether consumers can always trust claims that a product complies with a standard.

In the past 10 years, rising recall rates and mounting consumer concern have seen many governments beef up regulation of kids' products. However, that hasn't happened here, Chetwin said. "No product-safety standards have been introduced for 10 years, though some have been amended."

"Australia recently implemented a major review of its product safety system. We believe it's time for the same to happen here. Australia has 28 mandatory standards aimed at protecting babies and young children from potentially unsafe products. We have eight. Deaths and injuries involving portable cots led to the introduction of mandatory standards in Australia in 2009. Minimum safety requirements have also been introduced for strollers and other products such as bunks - neither of which are regulated here."

Already this year, 20 unsafe kids' products have been voluntarily recalled, compared with 12 recorded in Consumer's database last year. Chetwin said companies might claim the rise showed they were being more vigilant but recalls were no quick-fix. The average recall may recover less than half the goods sold. "Recent research suggests most recalls happen because the product is poorly designed - and shouldn't have been on the market in the first place."

New Zealand's approach to the safety of children's products relies heavily on companies complying with voluntary standards. However, Chetwin said this put a huge responsibility on consumers to be well informed about the products they bought. In most cases, she said, this was unrealistic. And when it came to hazardous substances, such as heavy metal in toys, there was no easy way to tell whether a product was safe.

Proposed changes to the Fair Trading Act which will improve product safety regulation are in limbo. The bill was waiting its first reading when parliament rose for the election.

Consumer NZ believes a precautionary approach is needed. The best way to do this is through mandatory standards with strong enforcement. "We'd like to see a major review of our product safety system with priority given to children's goods."

ENDS

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