I am pleased that we have approved this rule establishing a safety standard for infant support cushions and am particularly pleased that we did it through a unanimous vote.
This is an important rule that creates safety standards for a set of products that – until now – were not subject to comprehensive safety standards and created suffocation hazards for infants.
In the early 1990s the Commission banned infant pillows with granular fill that could conform to a baby’s face. Since that time, new products have emerged that serve a similar purpose to those old bean bag-type pillows but fall outside the ban.
These include infant loungers, cuddle pillows, head positioning pillows, wedge pillows, infant “self-feeding” pillows and more. The feature they all share: babies rest or lounge on them and if they are too soft or pillowy, babies’ faces can become compressed in them, leading to suffocation and in some cases death. CPSC is aware of at least 79 deaths and 124 nonfatal incidents in these products between 2010 and 2022.
This rule illustrates a core principle that Congress has confirmed: that if a product is made for babies, it should be as safe as possible for their use. It also advances our important work to improve the safety of all durable infant products.
I thank the staff for their hard work on this rule, the commenters for providing important information that staff relied on in developing the final language, and my colleagues for their support, especially Commissioner Boyle for her interest and leadership on this issue.
The views expressed in this statement are solely the views of Chair Hoehn-Saric and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission.