Following a move meant to bring a greener diaper to the marketplace, the maker of Pampers is now scrambling to field <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/product_liability">consumer complaints and faces a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) probe. Reuters reported that Pampers’ Swaddlers and Cruisers diapers were updated with a material called “Dry Max” in what Procter & Gamble described as the firm’s “biggest diaper innovation in 25 years.â€
Since the introduction of Dry Max, some parents have reported that their children have developed diaper rashes, some appearing to be chemical burns, after using the revamped diaper products, said Reuters, which noted that Procter & Gamble said it put the revised products under broad testing. Meanwhile, the CPSC is reviewing the consumer complaints and is speaking to Procter & Gamble, according to its director of public affairs, Scott Wolfson, said Reuters.
Procter & Gamble said it provided the agency with its safety data, stands by its product, and argues that the issues are not significant, wrote Reuters. “There’s no evidence that a single baby has experienced a serious skin safety issue as a result of Dry Max,” said Bryan McCleary, a spokesman for Procter & Gamble baby care division, quoted Reuters. To illustrate, McCleary said that some 2.5 million babies in the United States experience diaper rash each day, with some 10-percent of these considered severe, noted Reuters.
“Our hearts go out to any mom and dad and baby that are experiencing this. We know how difficult this is. But this is Pampers’ most thoroughly researched and tested new product since we invented the disposable diaper back in the 1960s,†added McCleary, quoted the New York Daily News.
But, according to the Daily News, parents aren’t buying any of this. As a matter-of-fact, a new Facebook site has been devoted to the issue with—at last count this morning—over 4,000 parents joining to protest the new Cruiser and Swaddler versions. The name of the group, said Reuters, is “Pampers bring back the OLD CRUISERS/SWADDLERS.”
Rosana Shah, whose daughter developed a rash after wearing the new iteration of the diaper, created the Facebook page. “In December, we bought our regular Cruisers and I noticed that my daughter’s skin was red and hot to the touch,†Shah, told ABC News, quoted the Daily News. Shah said she reached out to Pampers via its Web site, but to no avail, and decided to take her complaint up a notch by creating the page, said the Daily News.
Initially boasting only 20 members, thousands have since joined and parents have posted photographs to Facebook showing their babies’ and children’s rashes, the Daily News reported. Pampers’ corporate Facebook page has also seen increased traffic as a result of the debacle and now has over 227,000 fans, according to the Daily News.
The new diapers hit the market—without consumer knowledge—prior to the actual launch in March and were actually sold in the earlier packaging design months before the release of the new packaging, added the Daily News.
