Consumer Watchdog

Recall Alert: Children’s sandals contain dangerous levels of lead

Knowing a product's supplier and manufacturer are critical for avoiding potentially dangerous recalls.

Courtesy of CPSC | Public Domain

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that a line of children’s sandals was recalled due to unsafe levels of lead. Specifically, the inner layer of the Otter MOMO Children’s sandals was found to contain levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban. Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin that harms kids’ brains, affecting how they learn, grow and behave.

The sandals were made by the footwear company Kolan, which imported the sandals from China and sold them exclusively on Amazon.

This recall highlights the need for consumers to be especially diligent when shopping online. The growth of online shopping has only increased the number of ways for unsafe products to circumvent U.S. safety regulations. This is because it’s not always obvious whether an online product is safe or not, especially when you can’t inspect the item and it may be mislabeled or missing a warning, such as a recall notice.

California is on track to pass legislation to require online vendors to increase transparency and disclose basic information about themselves, which will provide more information to help consumers know what they are buying. 

In the meantime, try to make sure the products you buy are safe by reading a product’s online description carefully and looking out for misspellings, mislabelings and other red flags. You can also look up complaints reported to the CPSC about specific products at www.saferproducts.gov. If you believe you’ve purchased a counterfeit, knockoff or recalled product, you can report it to www.saferproducts.gov or call the CPSC at 800-638-2772.

For more tips on how to stay safe when shopping online, check out our tip guide here.

Sander Kushen

Public Health Advocate, CALPIRG Education Fund

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