b e n j a m i n f a l k e n b e r g

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Carter’s has issued a statement regarding their Fall 2007 line of “tag-less”-labeled baby and infant clothing causing allergic reactions and rashes, which can be found in its entirety here:

http://www.carters.com/corporate/tagless_message.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s advisory on this issue is here:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml09/09023.html

The affected garments have tags that look like this:

Garments with tags like the following are NOT part of the advisory:

Interestingly, Carter’s is not issuing a recall, saying they’ve researched the matter thoroughly and concluded it’s only an issue in babies and infants with sensitive skin. Really, Carter’s?

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 analyses. 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.

Nevertheless, we have been working closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and issued a joint advisory to alert consumers to the situation.

Carter’s claims “fewer than four reported rashes for every 1,000,000 of these products sold”. Seriously? Babies and infants get rashes all the time. Carters, do you really think that most people would consider your clothing the source of the problem? Most parents write such rashes off as reactions to teething or laundry detergent or something else entirely. The statistics mention seems a little…disingenuous.

Our opinion on this is that Carter’s should do a recall and take a little more responsibility. Carter’s is basically saying their clothes “technically and legally aren’t a problem” and then are more or less pointing the finger at the kids wearing the clothes for being too sensitive. Umm, yeah.

And if the rash persists? It’s apparently left to us to figure out on our own, according to their statement:

What should I do if my child has a reaction to a tag-less label?
You should stop using the garment that caused the reaction. If the condition persists, please contact your pediatrician for advice. We also encourage anyone with questions or comments to contact us at 1-888-282-4674 or by e-mail at contactus@carters.com.

And there’s this:

Is this reaction serious?
It is our understanding that the reaction is a type of allergic reaction called contact dermatitis and that it generally clears up completely within a matter of days after removal from contact with the allergen. If the condition persists, please contact your pediatrician for advice.

That’s right. They’re in the clear from the CPSC, so if the rash hangs around, you should simply start throwing piles of cash at your kid’s doctor and work it out yourself. Good grief.

Some of you may remember that we had issues with Carter’s in the past, and we weren’t even complaining or reporting a problem. We once attempted to contact Carter’s for help finding a replacement for a toy for Benjamin…and never got any response from Carter’s at all.

Does Carter’s think they’re actually responsive to consumers? Our own experience says they’re not… so we’re not particularly inclined to think Carter’s actually received or processed any or all reports regarding this rash issue.

As always, Carter’s is here to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Please feel free to contact our Consumer Affairs center anytime at 1-888-282-4674 or by e-mail at contactus@carters.com.

Tsk tsk, Carter’s. I want what you’re claiming about always being there for customers to be true; I really do. But it’s not. We’ve emailed you at that very email address above–contactus@carters.com–when we were looking for that replacement toy some time ago. We’ve still not received a reply. Not even an automated “got your message, we’ll get back to you” reply. Nothing. We were actually trying to buy something from you.

Maybe now that they’re trying to save some face they’re finally checking their email. Maybe they’ll find that email of ours, from two years ago. (Don’t bother replying now; the replacement-toy issue is long-since resolved, thanks (for nothing)!)

We do have some of the Carter’s clothing affected by this issue. Both Benjamin and Zachary have had some rashes, too. But, are they from the Carter’s clothing? Even now, we have no idea! However, in the spirits of both “better safe than sorry”, and “it’s the principle of the thing”, you can bet we’ll be contacting Carter’s to get those items refunded. Will it be a full refund? Carter’s says yes:

What do I do if I’m not satisfied with my Carter’s clothing?
As is our standard policy, customers may return any item that they are not satisfied with for a full refund. Our Consumer Affairs staff can be reached at 1-888-282-4674 or by email at contactus@carters.com, and will help with that return.

Since prices vary all over the place, I wonder what they consider a ‘full’ refund. We’ll see.

And, to be clear, we do like Carter’s stuff. We still buy Carter’s clothing and other items. But their customer service and their handling of this issue–in my opinion–leave something to be desired. I guess we’ve always held Carter’s to an all-around higher standard; maybe we shouldn’t.

Are you affected by this clothing issue? What are your thoughts? Have you called/emailed them regarding a refund yet? What was the experience like? We’d love for you to share your stories and experiences in the comments.

We found Benjamin’s (exact replacement) giraffe today!

Gurnee Mills, IL Carter’s Outlet store. They had two, and we bought them both.

Several people this week–some complete strangers–offered help and did some checking for us, and we want you to know we really, truly appreciate it.

In the end, Carter’s Corporate was no help. Kohl’s was no help. And by no help, we mean not even a thanks-for-contacting-us response. Sad.

["Hello, Kohl's? Carter's? How about some customer service, please? Hello? Is this thing on?"]

Anyway….Benjamin recognized the thing right away, and immediately started chewing on its head. heh. Good times…

A picture of Benjamin’s “new” giraffe is here:

Dad’s from-memory text description wasn’t too far off!

Anyway, yippee!!!

Finding the thing (all two of ‘em) didn’t just make our day, it made our MONTH (Dad’s in particular). We’ve been spending so much time calling checking around, emailing places, visiting stores, begging people online for help, etc, trying to find the thing. We sauntered into the store today expecting to be totally disappointed…AGAIN.

We were totally in disbelief when we saw one hanging on a hook…and then another one behind it!

If they’d had 10 of them, we probably would have bought them all ($10 a pop, ouch, heh)..no lie. Crazy! Dad about busted into tears today when he saw it…and again when Benjamin recognized it on the spot. He had it good and slobbered up before we’d even paid for it…

Phew! :)

[edit: you may have noticed we found a replacement. Looking at the pictures, it wasn't quite an EXACT match, but pretty darn close... ;)]

We had to throw away a favorite toy of Benjamin’s recently, and it saddened us a great deal, as it was one of his absolute favorite things to play with. It was a Carter’s giraffe rattle, bought for Benjamin as a gift by a patient of Mom’s.

Benjamin LOVED that thing. The problem we’re having now is that we can’t find a replacement!

It was purchased at a Kohl’s department store about 6 months ago or so. Mom saw one at the Southridge-Mall Kohl’s not more than a month ago or so, but we didn’t need a replacement at that time… and now that we do, it’s no longer there!

It’s basically a yellowish plush giraffe, kinda pastel-ish; there’s a large yellow ring that is the “handle” of the giraffe rattle… and each foot of the giraffe is attached to it. There is a small clear ball containing beads at the bottom of the ring that causes the toy to rattle, and some smaller ‘textured’ rings that are attached to the large ring for additional rattling, visual interest, and to chew on. The entire toy is about 8-9 inches long. The large yellow ring was the perfect size for two little hands to hold while the giraffes head got chewed on. ;)

It also had the standard C-clip attached to the giraffe’s head for hanging it from a stroller or carseat handle, etc. We took the loop-clip off (it, too, was yellow).

It’s really weird, but Dad just combed through a slew of photos and not a single photo with the silly thing in it! We’re dumbfounded; for as often as he had it with him, you’d think we’d have at least ONE photo of it. Apparently not. :(

AHA! This image is very similar to what ours looked like. the ring and the giraffe shape and design is EXACTLY the same, but the colors aren’t quite right…. this picture has pink and polkadots on the stomach… Benjamin’s had no pink in it at all (and no polkadots as far as we can remember…). Otherwise, it is the identical giraffe rattle:

Anyway, if you see one of these at a Kohl’s store near you, please let us know! We VERY desperately want to replace the thing… even if Benjamin no longer has interest in it, it was such a great part of his early days that we’d keep it for his keepsake box or a scrapbook or his room or something.

Thanks for your help! :)