In the News - Rashes Prompt Warning Over Baby Clothing

I was perusing the "Kids and Parenting" section of MSNBC this morning and came across a warning for parents. The article is entitled: Rashes prompt warning over baby clothing.

A popular brand of baby clothing, Carters, has sparked a government warning regarding their tag-less clothing made for the Fall 2007 line. 400 reports have been made regarding babies getting rashes on their body after wearing the garments.

Interested, I thought I'd check out the Carter website and sure enough, they have information on it.

From their website:
Carter’s has received reports that some infants with sensitive skin could be allergic to heat-transferred, or “tag-less,” labels used in baby and infant clothing, including Carter’s clothing. Children with such an allergy may develop a localized rash in the general area of the label on the upper back. Naturally, we are very concerned about any child who may have had a skin rash while wearing our garments, and we have been looking into this matter thoroughly.

We have conducted an internal review of the product and test results, required our label manufacturers to do the same, and coordinated with several independent experts, including physicians, to provide their analysis. Our review and testing provide no indication that the labels contain any known skin irritants or abrasive chemicals, or that such a rash is anything beyond a rare allergic reaction to an otherwise safe product. We have received fewer than four reported rashes for every 1,000,000 of these products sold.

The labels in question have a raised surface with a solid, rather than stenciled, background as seen in the pictures below.

Fall 2007 Label with solid background.


Spring 2008 Label with stenciled background.

For stylistic reasons, Carter’s has switched back to the smaller labels for their Spring and Fall 2008 line.

Again, since so few children (4 of every million sold) have been affected by the labels, there is NO FORMAL RECALL involved if you have purchased a Carter garment that has this type of label. However, you may return the garment for a 100% refund if you are unsatisfied with the garment for any reason. The Carters Consumer Affairs staff can be reached at 1-888-282-4674 or by email at contactus@carters.com, and will help with that return.

If you have one of these, good luck!