Target is recalling 204,000 Pillowfort brand weighted blankets after two children, ages 4 and 6, became entrapped in the blankets and died due to asphyxia in April 2022.
The recall, published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), states the two children died at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Target has received two more reports of children becoming trapped within the weighted blankets.
CPSC and Target are asking consumers to stop using the recalled weighted blankets immediately. The blankets were sold in stores and online by Target from December 2018 to September 2022 for about $40.
The AAP does not recommend any weighted objects (e.g., weighted blankets/sleepers/swaddles) on or near any sleeping infant.
The blankets weigh 6 pounds, measure 60 inches long and 40 inches wide, and have a removable, waterproof, washable cover. The blankets were sold in various prints and colors and were manufactured in China.
In a published statement, CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka said he supported the recall but abstained from voting to approve because a receipt is being required to receive a cash refund.
“This product is deadly, and today’s action to immediately recall the product and offer a refund to customers is the only acceptable path forward,” Trumka said on Dec. 22. “This (receipt) requirement is particularly inappropriate because Pillowfort is a brand only sold at Target stores — it could not have been bought anywhere else. Our goal is to get as many unreasonably dangerous products out of people’s homes as possible. Unnecessary receipt requirements stand in the way of that goal.”
For more information on the recall, contact Target at 800-440-0680 or visit https://bit.ly/3QdHvH8.
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