Firm Agrees To Consent Order In Children's Sleepwear Case

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has accepted a consent agreement in which Sara's Prints, Inc., San Leandro, California agreed to stop selling certain ""long underwear"" and ""playwear"" garments that did not comply with the Commission's flammability standards for children's sleepwear. These garments were manufactured of ordinary non-flame resistant 100 percent cotton.

The Commission's regulations require all children's sleepwear, robes and loungewear in sizes up to 14 to meet a higher level of flame resistance than other wearing apparel. These regulations, adopted in 1972, have contributed to a dramatic decline in garment related fire deaths of children over the last 20 years. In 1970, there were approximately 60 clothing-related fire deaths of children under 15 years of age. That number declined to two deaths per year by 1982.

According to the Commission staff's allegations, Sara's Prints was marketing imported cotton garments that it called "playwear" and "long underwear." Based on the design of the garments and how the garments were sold and used, CPSC staff believed that the garments were actually children's sleepwear that did not comply with the Commission's regulations requiring that such garments be flame resistant. In agreeing to cease and desist from the importation and sale of such untreated cotton garments, the firm did not admit that the garments were sleepwear.

During the last few years, the Commission staff has seen an increase in the marketing and use of cotton garments labeled as "playwear" and "underwear" for children's sleepwear. As a result, the Commission staff has required these garments to meet the flammability standards for children's sleepwear. The staff has asked a number of manufacturers or importers of garments similar to the Sara's Prints garments described above to stop the sale or distribution of such garments. Several firms have already taken such action.

CPSC is issuing this notice as part of its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 21,600 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.