Category: How To’s

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A Guide to Plastic Bag Suffocation Warning

You may be familiar with a plastic bag suffocation warning appearing on internal packaging, even the wording that usually goes with it, but do you know how to specify this to your supply chain? 

This guide gives you the recommendations to send to your supply chain (or use yourself).

The hazard the label tries to minimise the suffocation of children. Suffocation of babies, young children or even pets is more common than we would like, so it’s very important you put in place effective preventative measures.

Suffocation mostly occurs when a child places a bag over their head. The plastic bag could form an airtight seal around their nose and/or mouth. At first this may seem unlikely to the average adult however, children or babies come into contact with plastic bags in situations such as cot mattresses that have been left wrapped in thin plastic bags and other similar situations, especially when the product the bag contains is a toy or child appealing product.

Factors to consider when risk assessing the packaging that could cause a hazard to children would be the bag dimensions, the circumference of the opening, its closure type, the material specification and any air holes or perforations.

First things first

First thing to consider is the size of the bag and opening circumference. If the bag’s greatest dimension is less than 100mm or the opening circumference is less than 200mm, you don’t need to add the warning notice. 

With no legal requirement for child suffocation warnings in the UK / Europe, it can be a little daunting to make a final decision on what to print. Most large organisations supplying products now require the suffocation warning and bag specifications. This will likely be specified in the supplier manual they provide their supply chain with.

If the bag is larger than the above criteria, it would helpful to refer to the standards listed here for more detailed guidance:

Suffocation Warning Text

BS 1133-21 provides a recommendation for the specification and wording for a warning notice on bags and provides a criteria for the conditions under which it should be applied. However, this doesn’t provide a complete specification, so we have given you with recommendations to follow: 

  • Text should be red or black, or a solid colour to contrast with the bag material
  • Text should be in centre of bag or repeated on 0.5m grid for bags greater than 0.8m in any dimension
  • Text is ITC Helvetica or similar sans serif font
  • Font size for WARNING is 18pt minimum. Remainder of text is 14pt minimum
  • A label border can be used for dimensional purposes or not printed at all

WARNING

This bag is not a toy. To avoid danger of suffocation, 

keep out of reach of babies and children.

Bag

The Toy Safety Directive, BS EN 71-1, raises attention to plastic bags and plastic sheets. It specifies bags larger than 380mm opening circumference and having a drawstring closure must be made of a material which is permeable to air. Flexible plastic sheeting must be thicker than 0.038 mm if over a certain size.

Remember, children most at risk of suffocation, will likely be unable to read what a warning says! So it’s very important you make the bag specification as safe as possible, and to the recommended guidelines below…

Air holes and bag specifications:

  • Except where application requires airtight sealing, all bags are to be perforated with holes of 4mm diameter minimum, spaced on 30mm grid
  • Bags for child appealing products and toys must have a minimum of four holes; other bags to have a minimum of two holes
  • Unperforated bags for child appealing products and toys must be manufactured from material with a minimum thickness of 40µm
  • Bags for child appealing products and toys not to have draw-string closures

If in doubt, the majority of packaging suppliers would be able to provide you with pre-printed labels or custom bags that meet these specifications.

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Furniture Stability – Protection for Children

chest drawers

We all want our homes to be a safest place for our children. However, despite every parents best efforts, accidents do happen. 

The type of accident we will discuss is falling furniture.


The Tipping Facts.


Most accidents happen when a child is alone in a room and climbs up drawers or shelves. At 2 years old and walking, a child may start exploring the home without constant observation. Certain rooms may hold their interest more, specifically ones with their toys or games in. They may try to reach for their toys kept in drawers or in shelves, turn the TV on, or just do what kids do by being curious.


The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that in the U.S., a child is sent to the emergency room every 30 minutes as a result of falling furniture.


Data from a 2018 CPSC report demonstrates the scope of the problem:

  • A child dies every two weeks as a result of falling televisions, furniture, or appliances
  • 83% of tip-over deaths involve children between 1 month and 14 years old
  • 2 year olds are the age group most affected by tip-overs, and are most likely to be killed
  • 92% of tip-over fatalities occur in a residential setting
  • 46% of fatalities occur in bedrooms and 19% in living/family rooms
  • Crushing by the product (55%) were the most common category of death


See previous reports of the 2016 CPSC report and the Kids in Danger Stability Report for further research. 


Why have so many accidents occurred?


It’s awful to see the above figures of accidents and deaths that have happened in just the past year, highlighted again by a recent series released from Netflix, “Broken”.


Bearing in mind the severity of the injuries and the exposure of the results, why is the number still so high?


There are many reasons but one key issue is, consumers are completely unaware of the risks and how to mitigate them. This is highly unlikely to be their fault as there is not much information out there highlighting the precautions a parent can take to safeguard their children from these risks. There is far more information about how the retailers are incompetent or supply poor quality products.


The most common mitigating action is to attach a suitable anchor to the product. This must also be in the ideal location to suitably support the weight of the product and pressure in key areas. Usually this is provided with the product and explained in the instruction manual.

Granted, the instruction manuals highlight the wall strap, when it’s provided, however there could be more exposure given to it with in-depth instructions online or videos.


Another factor could be, the product may be supplied with a wall strap but they are poor quality fittings that are not universal to all wall types. There are many different types of anchors available and not all are created equal. With products such as cheap wardrobes that require wall straps, they can be near impossible to fit properly!


The good news is…the risk of tipping CAN be reduced!


Stability Standards.


Currently, there is no mandatory safety and stability test standard for children’s cabinetry furniture. Manufacturers and Retailers are governed by the General Product Safety Directive that puts the onus on them to ensure their products are fit for purpose and safe for the intended users.


But don’t panic! Most UK retailers will ensure children’s furniture is tested for safety and stability to FRQG test standards, EN71 or an approved equivalent alternative (where relevant), prior to selling the products to the consumers.


FRQG standards have been designed by FIRA and agreed with a panel of furniture industry experts for best practice. ASTM F2057 is the voluntary standard used in the USA.


What expect.


Due to the increasing demand to make products cheaper and quicker production lead times, manufacturers often provide insufficient quality fixings. You have most likely experienced this yourself, you buy a cabinet but find the fixings are useless so you have to take a trip to the local DIY store! Well this is no different for the wall straps usually provided.


You may wonder what precautions Retailers take prior to putting the product on sale?


Retailers have a sign-off procedure they follow before every launch of new products. Along with a long list of check points, their Quality teams should retrieve the test reports for the product being supplied and, in most cases, conduct a test build of the items (to imitate the customers experience).


If problems are found or insufficient materials are being provided, and the retailers think it needs improvement, the manufacturer has the duty to make those changes prior to shipping.


Tipping Preventions.


So what can we do to put more stringent measures in place?


Consumer recommendations (KID):


  • Buy furniture with a wider base, heavier back panel, and/or interlocking drawers
  • Buy furniture that meets a voluntary standard regarding furniture stability
  • Anchor or permanently secure the furniture to the wall using suitable wall restraints
  • Do not place a TV on furniture unnecessarily and keep TV cables and cords out of reach
  • Reduce climbing temptations by keeping objects such as toys and remote controls off of furniture

What can Retailers do?


  • Increase consumer awareness of the danger of furniture tip-overs and knowledge of the actions needed to keep children safe
  • Ensure all children’s furniture is tested to the appropriate standards, making those standards mandatory and enforceable, promoting changes in children’s furniture safety standards
  • Include in the instruction manual a wall anchoring guide suitable for wall types and floor surfaces e.g. a screw and stud for drywall 
  • Provide free fixings where missing from the packaging or insufficient quality is provided
  • Add appropriate labelling to the items and packaging 
  • Demonstrate the suitable location of the wall strap with bradawl marks or predrilled holes for the attachment
  • Train the sales teams and customer services to understand and advise consumers on the relevant anchor methods 
  • Provide incentives or triggers for consumers


As a large proportion of consumers don’t read or follow the instruction manuals provided (we all know that person!), FIRA suggested minimum label information for manufacturers permanently attach inside the chest drawer to remind the consumer to take safety precautions.


Further measures.


As a result of the findings, CPSC created the Anchor It! campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to educate caretakers about the danger of falling furniture through videos, explanations of dangers and what extra precautions can be added to your products. 


Baby Proofing


Have you considered baby proofing your drawers! There are numerous ways to do this, my top three are:

  • Anchors 
  • Magnetic locks/keys
  • Tension rods

IKEA


After receiving a lot of negative exposure, Ikea has issued a short guide on their website to help customers understand how to secure their products safely here.


Final note.


Supply chains always focus on customer satisfaction, however, It’s important to keep in mind what really matters – the safety of consumers comes first.


So before you finalise that new product design, or agree on material costs, think about the safety and quality of your products. Are they suitable to provide adequate preventative measures? Are you making it clear to the consumer what the risks are and how to mitigate them?


I look forward to hearing your feedback and any updates you may have.