CPSC Finds Hazardous Products Being Sold in Thrift Stores
69 percent of thrift stores sell products presenting a risk of death or injury
Press Release # 00-018
Transcript
There is no audio for this video. The picture sequence is as follows:
- Screen reading: "B-roll"; "Thrift Store."
- Inside of a thrift store.
- People inside store looking at stuff.
- Products inside thrift store.
- People inside store looking at stuff.
- Products inside thrift store.
- People looking at clothes.
- Close-up of garment.
- People looking at stuff.
- Screen reading: "B-roll"; "Hazardous Products from Thrift Stores."
- Baby products.
- Screen reading: "Clothing Drawstrings"; 51 percent of general thrift stores sell children's outerwear with drawstrings at the waist or neck. These drawstrings can catch on doors, cribs, and playground equipment and strangle children. Since 1993, CPSC knows of 22 deaths and 48 non-fatal incidents involving children's drawstrings. Children should not wear garments..."
- Screen reading: "Clothing Drawstrings (Cont.)...with drawstrings at the neck, and drawstrings should be limited to 3 inches in length."
- Multi-colored jacket.
- Close-up of jacket drawstring
- Baby garment.
- Close-up of jacket drawstring.
- Child garment.
- Close-up of drawstring.
- Screen reading: "Hair Dryers"; "20 percent of general thrift stores sell hair dryers without protection against electrocution. Older hair dryers pose a risk of electrocution. In the early 1990's, there was an average of 18 electrocutions each year involving hand held hair dryers. All hair dryers made after 1990 include electrocution protection-a large rectangular safety plug at the..."
- Screen reading: "Hair Dryers (Cont.)"; "...end of the cord. Consumers should not buy any hair dryer without this protection."
- Hair Dryer.
- Close-up of plug.
- Hair Dryer.
- Close-up of plug.
- Screen reading: "Cribs"; "12 percent of general thrift stores sell cribs that do not meet current federal and voluntary safety standards. Older cribs can present strangulation suffocation risks to children when part of their bodies slip through wide openings between slats, or when their faces become wedged between a loose-fitting mattress and the crib. Consumers should not but..."
- Screen reading: "Cribs (Cont.)"; "...cribs that do not meet current safety standards, have missing hardware, protruding fixtures or chipping paint."
- Crib.
- Close-up of crib part.
- Crib.
- Close-up of crib part.
- Hand going through the slat of the crib.
- Crib mattress being pushed down.
- Screen reading: "Halogen Torchiere Floor Lamps"; 10 percent of general thrift stores sell halogen torchiere floor lamps without wire guards on the bulbs. The lamps can ignite nearby fabric or other materials. CPSC knows of 65 fires and 6 deaths resulting from these floor lamps. In 1997, CPSC and the industry recalled for repair 40 million of these lamps. Wire guards were provided to help..."
- Screen reading: "Halogen Torchiere Floor Lamps (Cont.)"; "...prevent materials from coming too close to the halogen bulb. Consumers should not buy or use these lamps without a glass or wire guard over the bulb."
- Top of lamp.
- Lamp going up in flames.
- Inside top of lamp.
- Screen reading: "Play Yard and Playpens"; "7 percent of general thrift stores carry recalled play yards and playpens with protruding hardware or rotating top rails. Protruding hardware, or rivets, can catch on a child's clothing and cause strangulation. Other playpens were recalled because the top rails could collapse onto the child. CPSC knows of 31 children who have..."
- Screen reading: "Play Yard and Playpens (Cont.)"; "...strangled in these manners. More than 10 million play yards and playpens have been recalled. Consumers should check the complete recall list before buying a used one."
- Playpen and car seat.
- Close-up of playpen rail.
- Screen reading: "Demonstration of Strangulation Hazard in Playpen with Protruding Rivets."
- Doll in playpen.
- Collapsed playpen.
- Close-up of collapsed playpen.
- Collapsed playpen.
- Screen reading: "These represent only the top 5 recalled and hazardous products found in the thrift store study. CPSC also found many other dangerous products including the Century "Lil' Napper" infant swing. It was recalled in 1997 because babies were becoming entangled in the shoulder harnesses. The swing had claimed the lives of 3 babies at the time of the recall. Since then,..."
- Screen reading: "...CPSC has learned of another death from a second-hand "Lil' Napper" infant swing. This illustrates the inherent danger some second-hand products can present."
- Infant swing.
- Close-up of swing seat.
- Close-up of swing top.
- Infant swing.
- Hand going through strap.
- Screen reading: "CPSC has published a checklist to help consumers shop safely at thrift stores.; To get a copy, you can write to: Thrift Store Checklist; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Washington D.C. 20207 or visit their website at: www.cpsc.gov. The checklist is available in English and Spanish."
- Front of checklist.
- Opened checklist.
- Close-up of checklist.
- Close-up view, front of checklist
- Far view, front of checklist.
- Close-up, front of checklist.
- End