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Carters Heat Transfer Issues

Children's clothing brand Carter's altered the manufacturing processes for its heat transferred labels in its infant and baby clothing lines following the allergic reaction of some infants to the labels. Carter's and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning in 2008, warning of allergic reactions to labels in the company's Fall 2007 line of infant and baby clothing.

  1. Labels

    • Carter's Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, is a manufacturer of baby, infant and children's clothing sold throughout the United States. The company's fall 2007 line of baby and infant clothing saw a change in label design. The new labels were printed directly on the inside of the clothing, instead of a cloth label stitched into an inside seam. The original design of the tag-less labels was stenciled writing on the clothing; this was changed to a raised heat transfer with a raised background for the fall 2007 line. Carter made the change to tag-less, heat transferred labels for aesthetic reasons..

    Allergic Reactions

    • The main issue with the use of raised heat transferred tag-less labels was a rare allergic reaction to the ingredients used to create them. Infants and babies affected by the allergy showed signs of a localized rash on their upper back in the area where the label contacts the skin. Discontinue the use of Carter's clothing with raised heat transferred labels if these symptoms appear. Contact a pediatrician for medical treatment if the rash continues after the clothing is no longer worn.

    Ingredients

    • Carter's and its manufacturers made alterations to the ingredients used in producing the heat transferred tag-less labels. From 2009 on, the design of the labels was stenciled onto the garments without a raised background design. Carter's also altered the ingredients for its tag-less labels to remove over 100 substances that are known to be damaging to the health of human beings. The alterations include discontinuing the use of certain ingredients such PVC, Azo dyes, formaldehyde and vinyl.

    Warning

    • Carter's and the CPSC decided the issue did not warrant a recall, because of the relative rarity of the allergic reaction to the labels. Instead, a warning was issued and Carter's offered a refund on clothing for parents of children affected by the issues with labels.

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