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Re-activateIn the third major recall of children's sleeping equipment made by Simplicity in a year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced a recall of 600,000 cribs because they pose an entrapment and suffocation hazard. A year ago, as we wrote here, Simplicity recalled one million cribs, including some branded Graco, after the deaths of two infants. And just last month, 900,000 bassinets branded Simplicity, Graco and Disney, were recalled after the deaths of two infants.
Because Simplicity has gone out of business, the CPSC is working with a number of retailers to get the cribs recalled. So far the retailers include AAFES, Babies 'R' Us, Burlington Coat Factory/ Baby Depot, K's Merchandise, Meijer, Nebraska Furniture Mart, ShopKo, Target and Wal-Mart. Scott Wolfson, a CPSC spokesman, said he expects the list of retailers to grow.
Problems with the hardware on the cribs recalled today can cause the drop-side to come off the tracks. When the drop-side detaches or partially detaches, it can create a hazardous gap that can lead to infant entrapment or suffocation. The CPSC is aware of nine incidents in which the drop-side detached but there are no known injuries. Although both today's recall and the one made last September involved the drop-side, the issue with the cribs in the 2007 recall was flaws with both the hardware and the crib design that made it possible for consumers to unintentionally install the drop-side upside down. "This is a different set of cribs with different hardware," said Wolfson.
These recalls have been vexing to say the least. In the first Simplicity crib recall, made before the company went out of business, Simplicity supplied parents with a repair kit that immobilized the drop-side, although getting the kit took several weeks. This time owners of the recalled cribs are being asked to return them to the place of purchase for a refund or store credit.
Today's crib recall involves model numbers: 8620, 8745, 8748, 8755, 8756, 8778, 8810, and 8994. The cribs have a date code, which can be found on a label on the headboard under the mattress support, that ends in 05DH, 05GB, 06DH, 06GB, 07DH or 07GB (examples: 1806 DH or 0507 GB). The recalled model names include: Aspen and Crib N Changer Combo, Gabrielle, Camille, Providence and Shenandoah. Only the brand name "Simplicity" can be seen on the label on the headboard. The cribs were sold at department stores, children's stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 2005 through August 2008 for between $150 and $300.
In another odd twist, SFCA,the company that bought Simplicity's assets is "cooperating" with this recall, according to Wolfson. As we wrote earlier, SFCA refused to cooperate in the bassinet recall leaving it to the CPSC to elicit cooperation from the stores that sold them.
Consumers with questions about the current recall can contact one of the following retailers:
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