Did you buy toys for grandkids from Big W?

If you bought presents for your grandkids from Big W this year, you may be alarmed to discover that the store has had the most product recalls for children's products in Australia.



An analysis of product recall data by consumer advocate CHOICE has found Big W has had to recall 23 children’s products since 2015, more than double the recall rate of their competitor Kmart (nine recalls).



Target wasn’t far behind Big W, having recalled 17 children’s products.



“These products could be ticking time bombs,” says CHOICE editor Marg Rafferty.



“Product recalls from stores like Big W and Target are still just a band-aid solution to the core problem – it’s too easy to sell unsafe products in Australia.



"Generally, department stores and their manufacturers aren’t required by law to make sure their products are safe before sale and that’s disgraceful.”



Purveyor of quirky knick-knacks Daiso also made an appearance high on the list with 11 recalls, concerningly all for toys, presenting a range of choking and injury risks.



A 2019 CHOICE survey found 93 per cent of Australians incorrectly believe proactive product safety laws already exist.



“The product recall system in Australia is a perfect storm, especially when it comes to children’s products. We have very few mandatory safety standards in place. Most items in a store only have to be recalled if they’re later found to be unsafe rather than proactively checked before sale,” Ms Rafferty said.



“Australia needs a general safety provision so the onus is on retailers and manufacturers to sell safe products in the first place, not on families to track the hundreds of recalls that happen every year.”



What did you buy for the grandkids for Christmas this year?

3 comments

It would be nice if you could give us an idea of what toys from BigW we are talking about - we did buy

some from this store.


why do we even allow importers to import goods that are not safe ? ALL importers should have ALL imported goods tested for safety before being allowed to offer them for sale. Too much shoddy rubbish is allowed to be imported here with no oversight till someone is harmed.If the chinese can halt our exports for "testing" surely we can do the same and refuse import of any goods deemed unsafe.

I personally buy toddler boy clothes here, I'm satisfied with quality. 

3 comments



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