The consumer product safety commission recently issued a recall for children's bathrobes because they are considered highly flammable. The robes were made of 100% cotton terry cloth. Even though a bathrobe is not technically sleepwear, it is a piece of clothing that is connected to sleeping and thus must comply with the Children's Sleepwear standard.
More information can be found on the children's sleepwear standard (read this letter on loungewear too). It took me over an hour to finally find links to these two pieces of information and I read lots of interesting information on other products. If you go to the CPSC site, be sure to click on the Business link for guides and summaries.
Since you can read the government regulations at the links above, I won't repeat much of it here. Suffice it to say, the actual Flammable Fabric Act applies to just about all fabrics and articles of clothing (there are some exceptions). Some fabrics that consistently fail flammability testing include: sheer rayon or silk, rayon chenille, cotton fleeces, and cotton terry cloth. Synthetic fabrics (polyester, nylon, acrylics) or wool fabrics are generally exempt. This is because these fabrics either simply melt or do not hold a flame once the flame source is removed.
If you design childrenswear consisting of any suspect fabric, you should take the time to send either your fabric or clothing to a testing lab. A flammability test can run anywhere from $200-$500, depending on the lab. Small change compared to a burn lawsuit.
Next time I will tackle children's safety and bedding.
2019 note - The links to the recall and the CPSC are no longer good. If you do click through, you will have to search the database for the relevant information.
Showing posts with label Regulations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Regulations. Show all posts
September 25, 2006
September 20, 2006
Recall : Hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings
Two recent product recalls on children's clothing prompts me to issue a reminder. There are two major safety issues in relation to children's clothing. The first is drawstrings and the second is flammability.
Drawstrings
It never fails. I have seen drawstrings in one form or another on children's clothing each season. The consumer product safety commission (cpsc) recently issued a recall for hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings. The fact that these products made it into a major department store shows multiple failures along the vendor supplier chain. Nearly all products sold in a department store must pass some form of inspection. If this is a private label for Kohl's, then the failure is even greater. A major department store chain usually has a technical designer and quality auditor over every division. A private label garment must be approved by a technical designer, who is responsible that the garment not only fits, but is safe. A quality auditor is supposed to ensure quality standards and compliance during and after manufacturing. Both individuals should KNOW of the safety guidelines on drawstrings which have been in existence since 1996.
Another layer of failure is at the buyer level. A childrenswear buyer should also know the rule and should not even consider an item with a drawstring. I can guarantee Kohl's will either severely reprimand or fire the buyers and technical designers over that division. Not only is this a major financial issue for the company, but an accident waiting to happen.
Most major department stores are so concerned about the drawstring issue, that they have self-imposed their own safety guidelines. In other words, they have banned any type of item that dangles beyond a certain point. Waist ties on dresses can only be so long. Bibs no longer have bias ties. No knots (trims, pom-poms, flowers, etc) on the end of strings. Those large, pretty sashes found on girls special occassion dresses have to be shortened. Hoodies have elastic in the hood hem instead of drawstrings.
Boutique and specialty stores do not understand this safety issue sufficiently, and I still see drawstrings on childrens clothing. If you are a children's designer, be sure to pay attention to safety issues!
Next time: Product recall on children's bathrobes.
Drawstrings
It never fails. I have seen drawstrings in one form or another on children's clothing each season. The consumer product safety commission (cpsc) recently issued a recall for hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings. The fact that these products made it into a major department store shows multiple failures along the vendor supplier chain. Nearly all products sold in a department store must pass some form of inspection. If this is a private label for Kohl's, then the failure is even greater. A major department store chain usually has a technical designer and quality auditor over every division. A private label garment must be approved by a technical designer, who is responsible that the garment not only fits, but is safe. A quality auditor is supposed to ensure quality standards and compliance during and after manufacturing. Both individuals should KNOW of the safety guidelines on drawstrings which have been in existence since 1996.
Another layer of failure is at the buyer level. A childrenswear buyer should also know the rule and should not even consider an item with a drawstring. I can guarantee Kohl's will either severely reprimand or fire the buyers and technical designers over that division. Not only is this a major financial issue for the company, but an accident waiting to happen.
Most major department stores are so concerned about the drawstring issue, that they have self-imposed their own safety guidelines. In other words, they have banned any type of item that dangles beyond a certain point. Waist ties on dresses can only be so long. Bibs no longer have bias ties. No knots (trims, pom-poms, flowers, etc) on the end of strings. Those large, pretty sashes found on girls special occassion dresses have to be shortened. Hoodies have elastic in the hood hem instead of drawstrings.
Boutique and specialty stores do not understand this safety issue sufficiently, and I still see drawstrings on childrens clothing. If you are a children's designer, be sure to pay attention to safety issues!
Next time: Product recall on children's bathrobes.
July 02, 2006
How to create a care, content and sizing tag for clothing
 |
| Roland Russwurm [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]* |
Deciding what information to include on a hang tag or a garment's care and content tag can be frustrating. There are certain legal requirements for care and content tags of items sold in the United States and that can be found at the Federal Trade Commission website.
Let's start with the care/content tags. Let's assume that you have complied with all of the legal requirements. What else should go on your care and content tag? The answer is as little as possible. The tag has a finite amount of space, and it must be legible. But there is some critical information that will help the consumer pick just the right size.
Sizing information is one of those things that should be on the tag. For children's clothing it helps to put not only the size but also the weight. It would be nice to also include the height, but I rarely see this done in the US. I have seen the sizing information arranged different ways. For example, it could read like this: 0-3M (7-12lb).
This additional bit of information is very important to consumers. Even though we use a size system that designates an age, children come in all shapes in sizes at each stage of life. Ever hear of a newborn weighing 9lb? A newborn weighing 9lb at birth will weigh 12-15lb at about 3mo, and quickly move into 6mo clothing. Including the weight on a tag helps take out the guess work for the consumer. And don't forget every children's company breaks their sizing down differently. A 3mo outfit from one company will not be the same size as a 3mo outfit from another.
If there isn't room on a care/content tag for additional information, then it is helpful to include it on a hangtag. BabyGap has sizing information available on a card that is the size of a business card and it can be stuck in a wallet. What a great service for the customer! Not to mention, it probably helps reduce returns.
Most moms know the height and weight of their baby. They are given this information when they visit their pediatrician. The doctor will compare the baby's height and weight with a growth chart to make sure the baby is growing properly
If you have an online store, a size chart that includes basic height and weight information will greatly help your customers.
*Photo Credit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)