Six Retailers Agree To Stop Sale and Recall Simplicity Bassinets Due To Strangulation Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging retailers across the country to protect the health and safety of babies by stopping sale and recalling nearly 900,000 dangerous Simplicity bassinets. Yesterday, CPSC warned parents, caregivers and consumers to immediately stop using convertible "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" bassinets manufactured by Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., due to a serious safety risk. Today, CPSC is announcing that the following retailers have voluntarily agreed to recall the product and provide a refund or store credit to consumers who return the product to the store where purchased:

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark. – (800) 925-6278 or www.walmart.com
  
  
• Toys "R" Us Inc., of Wayne, N.J. - (800) 869-7787 or www.toysrus.com or www.babiesrus.com
  
  
• Kmart Corp., of Hoffman Estates, Ill. – (800) 659-7026 or www.kmart.com
  
  
• Big Lots!, of Columbus, Ohio – (866) 244-5687 or www.biglots.com
  
  
• Target of Minneapolis, Minnesota sold at www.target.com only
  
  
• J.C. Penney, of Plano, Texas – (888) 333-6063 or www.jcp.com
  
  

Below is a listing of Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible "Close-Sleeper" model bassinets that are included in this recall. The model number can be found on a label on the underside of the bassinet.

CPSC learned that on August 21, 2008, a 6 ½-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan. was strangled to death when she became entrapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. This is the second strangulation death CPSC has learned of in the co-sleeper bassinets. On September 29, 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo. became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died.

The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars that are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by velcro. The fabric is folded down when the bassinet is converted into a bed-side co-sleeping position. If the velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate. This warning does not cover bassinets produced in recent months that have fabric permanently attached over the lower bar.

Due to the serious hazard these bassinets pose to babies, CPSC urges all consumers to share this safety warning with day care centers, consignment stores, family and friends to ensure that no child is placed to sleep in a Simplicity convertible bassinet covered by this warning.