And then there were rashes, mysterious yukky rashes. And what’s worse than mysterious yukky rashes? Answer--mysterious yukky rashes on babies. Argh!On October 24, 2008, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning to parents about tagless labels in Carter’s brand kids and babies wear. It seems the tagless tags printed on the back, inside of Carter's clothing for infants is causing skin rashes on and about the necks of babies who wear the clothing. The CPSC states that “a small percentage of babies and infants have developed rashes on the upper back after wearing Carter's clothing with heat-transferred, or tag-less, labels.” A small percentage? Gosh, it's a wonder they bother to mention it at all.
Still, the CPSA must do their duty and send a mild warning to the public. And as usual the warning is accompanied by pictures and information about the labels.
So, guess where the suspect clothes are manufactured? Which country would be making such weird, rash inducing tagless tags for our kids? Come on, we’ve played this game before, just guess. Go ahead, guess...
You got it. China!
Again.
Hey, hey! Go China! Go China! Go China! It's not your birthday, but still congrats, on another dumper on the US consumer. Go China. Go China.
No, really. GO CHINA! Leave us alone!
*Sigh*
But to be fair, some of the suspect labels and clothing (as displayed on the CPSC website, as well as the Carter’s web site) are also from other countries such as the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia.
But, I'll wager a $1 bet that when the dust settles, the toxic trail will lead right back to our big ol’ smilin' friend, China. Maybe ol' big red provided the paint or the know how or just the idea to these other countries. Maybe it's something as simple as giving them a wink and a nudge and pointing out that big dumb sucker in the corner who will buy their crappy stuff for a good price...ie. the US or rather, us.
What to do?
Well, once again I urge you to buy clothes that are safe, made in the USA, eco-friendly and cheap. In other words, buy used.
There are so many reasons to buy used stuff but only a few to buy new. For one, why buy new, when there are clothes already here, just waiting for good homes and someone to love them? Hmmmm...where have I heard that before?
Never mind.
And if you are determined to buy safe, USA made, Carter’s brand clothes for your little ones, then I suggest you accept the reality you will buy them second hand. I assure you, you aren’t imagining that Carter’s used to be made in the US. They were, but now they’re not.
Still, some people hate buying used stuff. Why? They want everything new and shiny. But this concept is not new, it's old. It's the old stuck-in-the-rut of consumer-hungry-commercially-fed-corporate-puppetmaster-to-slave-brain-implanted compulsion. We want new, because the commercials say we want new, because they want our money.
What's really new, is choosing to buy used...when you can afford new. That's new, and smart.
Remember garage sales? Remember how much fun they used to be? And how about shopping at your local thrift store, (not Goodwill, they’re corporate and greedy), wasn't that fun or at least satisfying on some basic level?
If you can't or won't get out of the house to browse the re-purpose sites, then you might check out your local online give away or Freecycle group. You'd be surprised at the stuff people just give away for free. And lastly, if you're really desperate for Carter's, there’s always eBay.
But don’t forget to check out some of the links to the sites listed on the (right) side column of my blog. You won't find Carter's or OshKosh B'Gosh (as they are both SELL OUTS) but you may find something you like better and something less destructive to our economy and our environment.
Now, excuse me but I’ve got to help my daughter-in-law weed out some Carter’s from my grandson’s chest of drawers. Seems she slipped in some foreign goods when I wasn’t looking and now she's in a tizzy realizing her mistake.
Kids.
