Today, CPSC announced the recall of Jool Baby Nova Baby Infant Swings (Jool Nova Swings)—they are inclined infant sleepers that pose a suffocation risk to babies, violate CPSC’s Infant Sleep Products Rule (ISP Rule), and violate Congress’s ban of inclined infant sleepers, known as the Safe Sleep for Babies Act (SSBA). 

But the recall “remedy” announced today is worthless.  It will leave these sleepers in homes, even for those consumers who receive a recall remedy.  The company is offering a “repair kit” for consumers to simply swap out some of the cosmetic parts of the product that indicated to consumers that they are for sleep. The products have moon and star hanging toys; the “repair kit” would replace them with hanging toys not associated with sleep.  The remote control has a “sleep” button; the “repair kit” would remove that.  After the repair kit is installed, this product is still an inclined sleeper.  It still plays soothing lullabies.  And it can still suffocate a baby put to sleep in it. 

This recall is a failure.  My advice is to simply throw these products away.  The recall remedy does not make them safe. 

 It’s CPSC’s job to ensure that products designed like the Rock ‘n Play, an inclined infant sleeper linked to over 100 infant deaths, are not in your homes.  That’s why CPSC enacted the ISP Rule and why Congress passed the SSBA. 

With the Jool Nova Swings recall, CPSC is reversing its recent progress against inclined infant sleepers.  Hazardous inclined sleepers will remain in homes and continue to be used for sleep. The burden of this failure, the risk of death by suffocation, will fall entirely on infants, the most vulnerable consumers. 

This matter was not presented to the Commission for consideration—had it been, I would have voted “no” and encouraged my fellow Commissioners to do the same.  

Faithfully, 

Your consumer advocate at the Consumer Product Safety Commission

Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr.