by Safety advocates voice concern that lightweight units featuring fabric drawer construction are being sold online
WASHINGTON — Consumer safety advocates have weighed in on the discussion about clothing storage units that do not meet federal safety standards being sold on Amazon.com and other online platforms.
So far this year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled nearly 181,000 clothing storage units, many of which are lightweight in nature and feature fabric drawer construction. While none of the units has been associated with any injuries or deaths, the CPSC said they do not meet the requirements of the federal safety standard known as the STURDY (Stop Tip-Overs of Risky Dressers on Youth) Act, which took effect in early September 2023.
Many of the units also have been sold for as low as $80-$100 online, according to the CPSC, giving them an unfair pricing advantage in the marketplace in light of the safety issues others are addressing with products that are more expensive, yet meet the STURDY Act.
After Home News Now published news of the high number of recalls, it reached out to several consumer and child safety organizations to get their input on the issue of the unsafe dressers, many of which have fabric drawer construction.
Each of the organizations applauded the CPSC for its enforcement of the STURDY Act. However, they also voiced concerns about the number of allegedly unsafe units, particularly dressers with fabric drawer construction, that have been sold online.
“Consumer Reports applauds the CPSC for its rigorous enforcement of the STURDY Act, but it’s concerning that so many recalls are necessary in the first place,” Gabe Knight, senior safety analyst at Consumer Reports, told Home News Now. “Dressers that don’t meet these reasonable stability requirements can seriously injure or kill a child. It’s also concerning that nearly all of the dressers that were recalled this year were sold on online marketplaces. Consumers expect that a dresser sold online will be safe, just like ones sold in stores, but it’s clear that online marketplaces aren’t doing enough to vet their sellers and prevent unsafe and illegal products from being sold on their platforms.”
Others, including Parents Against Tip-overs, also noted how it believes that the CPSC “is focused on enforcement of all federal rules, including The STURDY Act.”
“PAT, along with the American Home Furnishings Alliance and other manufacturers, worked for years to develop a stability rule to ensure tip-overs no longer injure or kill children,” said Kimberly Amato, chair of Parents Against Tip-overs. “Enforcement is critical to ensure the safety of children.”
Amato also cited issues with the type of clothing storage units that have become a focus of recent enforcement efforts.
“Although these units are lighter, they still pose tip-over and entrapment hazards,” she said. “We applaud the CPSC for its enforcement of all CSUs no matter what materials they are constructed of.”
While many tip-over-related deaths involve broken bones, brain injuries and crush-related trauma, suffocation is another factor in tip-over incidents involving clothing storage units such as drawer chests, bureaus, dressers, armoires, wardrobes, chifforobes and door chests. Such incidents typically occur as a child uses lower drawers as steps to reach something in the top drawers or on the top of the unit.
During its annual Furniture Safety Week held in early October, the American Home Furnishings Alliance also alerted the industry and consumers to the high number of recalls occurring in the first nine months of the year. It noted that one of the units it purchased failed three performance tests, the last of which could not be completed because a fabric drawer collapsed under the test weight.
It also noted that the unit did not have a warning label in the top drawer of the unit as required by STURDY. Instead, it said, the unit had an incomplete label omitting the “No TV” verbiage and icon, printed on the back cover of assembly instructions. It noted that under the stability standard established by STURDY, clothing storage units that are not specifically engineered to hold the weight of a television must carry a warning label for consumers not to place a TV on the product.
The AHFA also noted that a cursory online search shows dozens of the fabric dressers being used to hold TVs.
“Promotional copy even recommends using them for large-screen TVs, some stating they can be used for TVs weighing more than double the weight of the entire unit,” said Pat Bowling, AHFA vice president of communications, in a release the AHFA issued during Furniture Safety Week.
The Consumer Federation of America also commented on the issue, applauding CPSC for its efforts to enforce the STURDY Act.
“Strong enforcement of federal safety standards across all sales channels is essential to protect children from tip-over hazards,” said Courtney E. Griffin, director of Consumer Product Safety at Consumer Federation of America, adding that “recent CPSC recall and product warning data demonstrate that noncompliant products are available on online marketplaces at an alarming and unacceptable rate. Consumers expect and deserve to have only safe products available for purchase online. It is critical that CPSC has the authority and resources to ensure dangerous products never reach consumers’ homes, regardless of where those products are sold.”
She added that the Consumer Federation of America “is particularly concerned about the proliferation of lightweight fabric drawer units on e-commerce platforms. While these products may appear less dangerous due to their lighter construction, they still present serious tip-over and entrapment risks to children.”
Amazon and other online platforms where these types of units have been sold have not responded to Home News Now’s requests for comment on the issue and what they are doing to get these types of units into compliance with the STURDY Act.
However, Amazon and others who are selling these types of piece online may want to begin developing and testing them to make sure they comply with STURDY. Otherwise, the products could be a disaster waiting to happen in someone’s home.
