Pottery Barn is recalling a number of dolls for strangulation hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC) just announced.
About 81,000 defective Chloe, Sophie, and Audrey soft dolls were recalled in the United States; 1,300 were recalled in Canada.
The recalled Chloe, Sophie, and Audrey dolls were manufactured in China; imported by Pottery Barn Kids, a division of Williams-Sonoma Inc., of San Francisco, California; and sold exclusively at Pottery Barn Kids stores nationwide, online at www.potterybarnkids.com and through Pottery Barn Kids catalogs from July 2006 to April 2011. The defective dolls sold for about $40 each.
The hair on the Chloe and Sophie dolls may contain loops large enough to fit around a child’s head and neck. Also, the Audrey doll’s headband, if loosened, can form a loop that fits around a child’s head and neck. All of these loops can pose a strangulation hazard. To date, the firm has received five reports of dolls with looped hair, including one report in which a loop of the Chloe doll’s hair was found around the neck of a 21-month old child. The child was not injured.
This recall involves soft dolls—all part of the Pottery Barn Kids’ Girl Doll Collection—that are sold under the names Audrey, Chloe, and Sophie. The dolls measure approximately 17 inches in height and all have hair made of yarn. Audrey’s hair is black, Chloe’s hair is dark brown, and Sophie’s hair is blonde; the doll’s name can be found on a tag sewn onto her bottom.
The firm is advising consumers to take the dolls away from children immediately and to cut the looped hair of the Chloe and Sophie dolls and remove the headband of the Audrey doll to eliminate the hazard. Consumers may also call Pottery Barn Kids for instructions on how to return the affected dolls for a merchandise credit. Potter Barn Kids can be reached, toll-free, at 1.855.880.4504 between 4:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Pacific Time (PT), seven days a week, or at its website at www.potterybarnkids.com.
