The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has sent a letter to distributors,
manufacturers, retailers, and importers emphasizing the importance of
them abiding by Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) and the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act of 2008. Children’s sleepwear is defined by the
CPSC as apparel ranging from size 0 to 14 that is supposed to be worn
mostly for sleeping or during sleep-related activities. (Infant garments,
which are for kids younger than 10 months, underwear, diapers and certain
clothing that are tight-fitting do not fall under the children’s
sleepwear category.)The kind of fabric that the clothing is made of, the
way the sleepwear is distributed and promoted, and the likelihood of it
being bought for and used by kids are also key factors in determining
whether a piece of clothing would be considered kids’ sleepwear.
For the Commission, children’s loungewear is clothing used mainly
for sleep-related activities.
The sleepwear standards regarding flammability were established so that
kids’ clothing doesn’t ignite when exposed to candles, lighters,
matches, stoves, ranges, fireplaces, and space heaters. Such unfortunate
accidents have been known to happen to children wearing flammable loungewear/sleepwear
(usually) right before bedtime or in the morning after breakfast. Unfortunately,
despite the existing regulations, there are clothes that pose a fire hazard
risk yet still end up in the marketplace.
When clothing is made of material that is more likely than other fabrics
to catch fire, the person wearing the clothes can end up sustaining serious
burn injuries, especially as the flames are more likely to spread quickly
through flammable material. Also, the material that the clothing is made
from can melt into the person’s skin, exacerbating the burns even further.
Disfigurement, permanent scarring, infection, and death may result from
wearing flammable clothing that catches fire. A person lucky enough to
survive such an accident may have to undergo serious, painful surgeries,
skin grafts, and other procedures. They also may sustain emotional and
psychological scars that can impair a person’s ability to live a
normal life.
Factors that can impact how fast clothing can ignite include:
• The type of material and fibers that the clothing is made from
• The design of the clothing. For example, longer and looser the
clothing is the greater the risk of it brushing against any nearby flames.
Our clothing defects lawyers are familiar with the severe burns that can
result from flammable clothing. We represent children and adults who were
seriously injured because of defective and dangerous products.
CPSC Reinforces Children’s Sleepwear and Loungewear Enforcement
Policy to Apparel Industry Agency standards designed to prevent burn injuries
to children, CPSC, December 23, 2011
Read more about the CPSC’s sleepwear standards (PDF)
Read the CPSC’s letter (PDF)
More Blog Posts:
Ex-Pro Football Players Sue Helmet Maker Riddell and NFL for Traumatic
Brain Injuries and Products Liability, Product Liability Law Blog, August 31, 2011
CPSC Says Certain Kids’ Outerwear with Drawstrings Pose Strangulation,
Entrapment and Death Hazard to Kids, Product Liability Law Blog, July 18, 2011
Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries, Product Liability Law Blog,
July 19, 2008
To schedule your free consultation with The Gilbert Law Group®, call (303) 431-1111 or contact us online. Ask to speak with one of our child injury lawyers. Our products liability law firm represents clients throughout the US.
