Blair Expands Recall To All Women’s Chenille Apparel Due to Burn Hazard; Additional Reported Deaths Prompt Re-Announcement of Robe Recall
9 Reported Deaths in Total; Consumers Urged to Stop Use of Flammable Wearing Apparel
Its with sadness I write this . 9 Lives have been lost, which could have been avoided by being prudent, can we replace these lives ?
Lack of knowledge of US Regulations on Flammable Fabrics Act 16CFR 1609 and the related Flammability of General wearing apparel 16 CFR 1610 is the case of this major tragedy.
Such a situation was waiting to happen, its no surprise that this tragedy has hit the industry . Its a sad day and I hope the worlds textile producers, sellers and 3rd party labs look down in shame for the loss of these lives.
I put the blame squarely on the people who are writing specifications for products at the retailers . Absolute lack of knowledge of what they are doing is the cause . I hope the retailers across the world wake up to the true situation of the hazards textiles can pose and work with technically competent people to write specifications and not simply look at others manuals and make copies with small grammatical changes .
I also advise that retailers insist that their agents, branch offices , buyers in other countries, employ proper technologists who are aware and knowledgeable about textiles. Instead today's textile industry is driven by people who even lack the logic of simplest of textile properties weight per square area.
On the other hand the manufacturer has to also educate the importer/retailer , if a retailer has wrongly designed a product a manufacturer has to bring this to the notice of the retailer. Every prototype has to be tested for safety.
3rd Party labs also play crucial roles, they buy cheap copies of instruments, do not train their staff properly, and do not insist on representative testing , for matters retailed to safety . All they want is business and money.
Finally CPSC, blundered by taking out the sampling procedure from 16CFR1610, under the paper work reducing act. While 100’s of sheets of paper is required to get a Visa to USA processed, proper sampling of a key safety test was removed . See the irony of policies of our Governments.
I also think the Governments of countries that produce such materials that cause death/s must take to task the manufacturers and file criminal cases against them. We are one world, a life lost in Africa due the negligence of some one in India, is to be considered as an infringement of law, no one has the right to take another persons life.
There is no other parameter more important than safety, if safety is compromised because of a design element , the design element has to taken out. Period !
This author believes that the lack of understanding, of the test method specified in 16CFR 1610 and improper sampling methods is main cause of this problem.
Many retailers and manufacturers and 3rd party labs, are all content with a single sample tested from a lot of any size is sufficient proof that the product passes 16CFR1610. Representative testing is not done, nor is anyone bothered about this.
The recall covers over 100,000 units, and I am not too sure if anyone bothered to conduct tests based on statistical sampling procedures.
Further, cotton having a reasonably high moisture regain, if not tested in dry state as mentioned in the regulation may not ignite in a 1 second impingement .
To avoid such loss of life which no one can replace, people in the business must realize that test certificates are not documents to procure payments. Everyone involved in the manufacture of textile products have to realize their responsibility towards the consumer who buys these products.
Color fastness and Dimensional stability problems are handled differently, I know of several retailers who have even tabulated discounts based for every 1/2 grade the sample fails by. Here a failure is not life threatening and so everyone got away.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Blair LLC, of Warren, Pa., are expanding Blair’s voluntary recall of women’s full length chenille robes to include additional chenille robes and three other chenille products all manufactured by A-One Textile & Towel. CPSC and Blair also are re-announcing the earlier recall of women’s robes.
In April 2009, Blair recalled 162,000 chenille robes after it learned of three robes catching on fire, including one report of second degree burns. Blair then received several reports of deaths allegedly due to robes catching fire. This prompted a second news release in June 2009 to again alert consumers to the burn hazard for the chenille robes. After this re-announcement, Blair received four additional reports of deaths allegedly due to the robes catching fire. Three of these victims were cooking and a fourth was tending a pellet stove; three of the four victims were in their 80s and one was in her 70s. All nine reported deaths occurred prior to the April 2009 announcement of the recall.
Products recalled are
- Full Length Women’s Chenille Robes for about $30 to $40;
- Women’s Chenille Jacket, about $25 to $29;
- Women’s Chenille Lounge Jacket, about $20 to $23;
- Women’s Chenille Top, about $20 to $23.
Hazard: Some of these products fail to meet the federal flammability standard and present a risk of serious burns to consumers if the garments are exposed to an open flame.
Incidents/Injuries: Since announcing the recall in April 2009, Blair has received nine reports of deaths allegedly due to the originally recalled robes catching fire. Blair has received one report on one of the additional garments catching fire; no injuries have been reported.
Manufactured in: Pakistan
Remedy: Consumers are urged to stop wearing the garments immediately. Contact Blair LLC for information on returning the products and to receive a refund or a $50 gift card for Blair merchandise.
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