Black Dog Tavern Co. fined ... with a little help

Kudos to our dogged investigator Janell Mayo Duncan, Senior Counsel at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. As a result of her sleuthing, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Dec. 15 that Black Dog Tavern Co. has agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty after the company continued to sell children’s hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings even though the clothing had been recalled in February. Clothing like this poses a strangulation hazard because drawstrings can catch on playground equipment, bus doors, cribs, etc. From January 1985 through January 1999, the CPSC received reports of 22 deaths and 48 non-fatal entanglement incidents involving drawstrings on children’s clothing. (No incidents or injuries have been reported relating to Black Dog's sweatshirts.) 

Here’s the story behind the Black Dog penalty: 

During the summer of 2005, Janell and her family visited Martha’s Vineyard where she purchased a hooded sweatshirt from The Black Dog General Store for her 6-year-old daughter. The next day, when her daughter was wearing her new sweatshirt, Janell kept asking her daughter to keep the hood’s drawstrings out of her mouth. After about the fourth request, Janell stopped short, realizing that the sweatshirts shouldn’t have had strings in the first place, because of the danger of strangulation. Eventually, Janell called the store owner and left a message raising concerns about the sweatshirts. Janell also sent an e-mail to her contacts at the CPSC about the sweatshirts -- as well as some Basix USA children’s windbreakers she had also seen in a store in Martha’s Vineyard and later in Maine. Those windbreakers also had drawstrings in the hoods. Janell’s tip led to Black Dog cooperating with the CPSC to recall the sweatshirts in February 2006. 

Then, in August 2006, Janell and family were back at the Vineyard. She again stopped by a Black Dog General Store in Oak Bluffs and toured the kids' section — where she found more children's hooded sweatshirts with strings in the hoods, although some did not have strings. Janell alerted the salesperson, who said that the sweatshirts were not supposed to have strings. The clerk said a new shipment had just been received and that someone in the warehouse must be new and unaware that the strings were supposed to be removed from the sweatshirts. Another clerk was directed to pull them from the shelves and put them in the back. About an hour later, Janell stopped by another Black Dog General Store, also in Oak Bluffs, where she found more hooded children's sweatshirts, some of which also had pull strings in the hoods. Some had the strings removed and one clerk was stationed near the section, busily cutting strings out of the hoods of children's sweatshirts. There was a bag on the table being filled with the strings that had been removed. She took pictures of the sweatshirts  at both locations, and a picture of the bag being filled with strings.   

Now in full hunt mode, Janell stopped by the youth section in same store where she had seen Basix USA children's windbreakers sold with strings in the hoods the summer before. And the story was the same: more of the same windbreakers with string in the hoods. She took pictures of these as well, and forwarded all the photos to the CPSC. 

Needless to say, Janell is pleased that the CPSC has acted on the Black Dog sweatshirts, although she wonders why it took so long -- and also why the agency hasn’t yet taken any action on Basix. We asked the CPSC, and spokeswoman Julie Vallese said she didn’t know anything about the Basix issue; however, that doesn't mean the agency's Compliance division isn't working on it. As for Black Dog, she said it takes the government time to determine the nature and severity of the problem before issuing a civil penalty. As Janell points out, her story illustrates that YOU can make a difference! If you see any products that you think are being sold despite the fact that they have been recalled, contact us  and notify the CPSC as well.