Halloween flashlights ignite: Target pulls them from shelves after WalletPop inquiry
Filed under: Recalls, Shopping, Consumer Complaints, Consumer Ally
When you put a battery in a flashlight the flashlight shouldn't start burning. One my son brought home from a birthday party did.It came from Target -- three for $1 in a package marketing them for Halloween. I dropped in a new Energizer battery, screwed on the top and the flashlight got warm right away. I shut off the flashlight and placed it on the kitchen table. A few minutes later a sizzling sound could be heard that we couldn't identify. The burning smell quickly led us to the flashlight, which was now smoking and melting from the heat. I grabbed an oven mitt, grabbed the flashlight and went out on the balcony and shoved it into a pot of dirt.
I'd have to say that after writing about dangerous products for more than a decade -- many cheap Chinese imports like this -- I hadn't had one go up on me. So I purchased another package of the flashlights and dropped batteries into two of them. One melted. The other was OK. Two out of three flashlights overheating isn't a good ratio in my unscientific test.
So I contacted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Target and the importer, Devrian Global Industries.
Target's response was sw
ift and decisive. The flashlights are being pulled from the shelves at Target and anyone with them can get their money back. Target operates 1,684 stores in 48 states. Target declined to say how many flashlights were involved or whether others had reported similar issues. The CPSC, a spokeswoman said, has been notified."First and foremost, thank you for bringing this issue to our attention," Target spokeswoman Sarah Bakken wrote me in an email. "We have not yet been able to identify the cause of the flashlight overheating or melting but are currently conducting further investigation.
"Because the safety of our guests is a top priority at Target, we have issued a market withdrawal of the flashlights and all product will be pulled from our shelves. Guests that have already purchased the withdrawn product can return to any Target store for a full refund."
Anyone with questions is asked to email Guest.Relations@Target.com.
UPDATE (10/14): WBBM television in Chicago is reporting a fire started by a different set of Target Halloween flashlights.
Why is it taking so long for official recall announcements to go out to let people know these are dangerous? Halloween's getting pretty close.
And, Devrian Industries did eventually contact me -- not to make a statement, but to ask for the evidence -- the two flashlights. I've already promised those to federal safety investigators.
Bakken said the mini flashlights in the "See. Spot. Save." section had been tested and passed.
CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson encouraged anyone who experiences problems with a product that could lead to an injury or property damage to report that to the safety agency. He urged consumers to retain the product if possible and let the CPSC know in the complaint that the product is available for them to examine.
The CPSC has recalled several children's flashlights, although none in the past few years. In each case the flashlights overheated and could have caused a fire.
As much as I would love to see this nation's reliance on cheap Chinese-made products decline, it was refreshing to see Target take such quick action. Going through the bureaucracy of the CPSC, especially if the company is less amenable, can lead to a lengthy process during which many more incidents can -- and often do -- happen.
If you have a product like this that starts to get hot, don't just toss it aside. Take out the battery if you can and report it to the company and the CPSC.
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Recalled Children's Products
If you own any children's products or are going to buy some second-hand, this is a list that could help save a life. All have been recalled because they have put kids in peril -- with design flaws or defects that risk burns, broken bones and even death. Click through this gallery to view images of each product.
www.cpsc.gov
www.cpsc.gov
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
10-01-2009 @ 8:41PM
Dan said...
I know first hand about cheap chinese junk because I live in a country where everything you buy is made in china. It doesn't have cheap prices, but the quality in nil, there is none
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10-01-2009 @ 10:33PM
Jill said...
You are absolutely right.
10-01-2009 @ 9:01PM
Greg said...
This is a perfect example why I have gone on an anti China rampage. What is it going to take for America to wake up?
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10-02-2009 @ 4:43AM
gr8bsn said...
I don't know. Short of World War 4 and a comet hitting the earth, people are pretty stupid these days.
10-01-2009 @ 8:45PM
Simzee said...
You get what YOU pay for
Reply
10-01-2009 @ 11:34PM
Ron said...
No. You don't get what you pay for. Chinese made garbage is not cheaper than American manufactured product. Why would the rich bastard corporate managers take a pay cut? If they can sell the Chinese garbage for the same price as American made items then they make out. The ONLY way to stop the influx of trashy product is to leave the stuff on the shelf especially if the tag shows it to be made in China. If you want safe product then Chinese made is not the way to go. Lead in toys, plastic in pet foor. plastic in infant formule, overheating flashlights. Yep. Don't need Al Qaeda, just keep buying Chinese made product and the US will destroy itself.
10-01-2009 @ 8:55PM
nicole said...
ughh. im sick of these stupid chinese toys. they always explode or something goes wrong! next thing you'll know, they're be this cheap doll, and all of a sudden it will start melting! thanks to target and you for helping many, many people! (:
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10-01-2009 @ 9:31PM
mary said...
I live in a state where they cut down as many trees as possible, send them to China (where they create this .....) and sell it back to us. ???
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10-01-2009 @ 9:38PM
arlo said...
pretty sure they don't use trees to make flashlights.
10-02-2009 @ 12:57AM
d2junk said...
Arlo, there is a TON of packaging involved, much of it made from trees.
10-01-2009 @ 9:52PM
George said...
I wonder how many posts there would have been if this Chinese item had been sold at Wal-Mart?
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10-01-2009 @ 10:12PM
byrdog said...
I can't tell you just how frustrated and angry I am about the flooding of our total market place with these cheap and wholly dangerous goods - all coming in mass heaps- from - China. I've been keeping track. And it's gotten progressively WORSE over the last year or so. To bargain away our childrens lives is the reaching to the bottom of the barrel. It's bad enough walking into Macy's expecting better- only to find 90% of all items now labeled 'made in China'. I've gotten so I don't even have to look for the tag any longer. The lack of quality is eyeballable.
Gee, thanks Clinton, Bush, Citi, BofA,...... Congress, FED. Its all good. I just quit buying. Good luck figuring out how to mass consumerize ME. No more buying for me.
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10-02-2009 @ 12:24AM
Billie said...
You blame the wrong people. The American people are to blame because they wanted cheaply made goods because Madison Avenue told everyone "you deserve to have..." Once corporations found this out they sent the jobs overseas and this is what we have now. All these cheap knockoffs are there for the taking and this is the fault of the American people.
10-01-2009 @ 10:19PM
dgboys said...
why isnt anyone concerned that neither the importer nor Target did any testing of this junk before putting people at risk..... we expect (but should not accept) this quality from the chinese.....consumers wake up.
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10-01-2009 @ 11:49PM
Ron said...
What makes you think that the retailer tests all the product they sell? What makes you believe that the importer (the company that made the junk in the first place) is going to test its own product?
Welcome to the world of free enterprise and capitalism. It is make as much money as you can, as quickly as your can, as cheaply as you can, and if a few get run over accomplishing this task of getting filthy rich, it does not matter. When I shop, I look ath the label. If is says Made in China, I leave it on the shelf. I don't want or need the garbage coming from that loser of a nation. Funny how people bitch about socialism and comminism yet they willingly buy from a comminist nation. Just what they need, more of OUR money.
10-01-2009 @ 10:38PM
Joseph Papierz Jr said...
What will it take for Purchasing Executives to pass up the "cheap" and often dangerous "made in China" products.First we had lead in products marketed for children, now we have flashlights that can cause the house to burn down. Not to mention the horrible working/living conditions of the Chinese worker.
President Obama: Forget winning the Olympics for Chicago. Do something to finish up our health care problems, and "once and for all" shut down the importation of dangerous products just because they are "cheaper" than American made. BE A PRESIDENT ! ! ! PLEASE ! ! ! Hint: If you made all government employees join the Social Security and Medicare plans non government employees are stuck with, I'll bet the problems these programs suffer from would be solved in a hurry.
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10-02-2009 @ 5:29PM
Lanz Franco said...
As a Product Manager let me tell you something. I'd LOVE to buy stuff from Japan and other places. I've been TRYING to do so. But if I were to continue to buy from those places, I'd be out on the street looking for a job and you'd be left with one less choice of things to buy. So long as Wal Mart continues to be the number one retailer in the world by buying cheap stuff from China, then that is what the rest of us will have to sell in order to stay in business. Its that simple.
At first, it was just about losing sales to Wal Mart. Then, when the orders stopped coming, our manufacturers overseas went out of business. At that point, we had a choice to either stop selling things or to buy from China. Personally, I like my paycheck.
But beyond that, not all Chinese products are bad. There are some manufacturers that are pretty good. Its just really hard to weed out the bad ones because the Chinese know how the system works.
As for this particular product, if TARGET was selling it as a Children's Product, then they would have had to test the heck out of it. Odds are the manufacturer pulled a switch on them - sending the good stuff to be tested, and then sending the bad stuff to market. That happens all too frequently.
10-01-2009 @ 10:39PM
kira said...
Well what do they expect? You just bought a three pack of cheap-o flash lights in a dollar bin. I wouldnt blame China of all places for this..You get what you pay for.
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10-01-2009 @ 11:03PM
Carol said...
It's not about the products being cheaper, even though they very well may be, but it's almost impossible to find anything not made in China anymore, no matter the price. If it's not China, it's Indonesia, or Pakistan or anywhere but the United States of America. WHEN will be bring back the manufacturing to our own country for our own people to have jobs?? So, we'll pay a bit more, it will be worth it to know we aren't killing ourselves with lead paint, flashlights that ignight, food that is made with melamine, even baby formula...come on. When will it end?
Reply
10-01-2009 @ 11:01PM
Nate said...
THIS IS THE 2ND ARTICLE WALLET POP POSTED TODAY ABOUT CHEAP DANGEROUS TOYS SOLD AT TARGET.
FIRST WAS - TARGET GETS FINED $600,000 FOR KNOWINGLY SELLING LEAD PAINTED TOYS.
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/01/target-hit-with-600-000-penalty-violating-30-year-old-ban-on-le/
TARGET: GET SOME QUALITY CONTROL!!!
HERE IS A LINK TO WRITE TARGET AN EMAIL. THEY WILL RESPOND TO CONSUMER PRESSURE.
MAKE THESE COMPANIES GIVE A CRAP ABOUT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN!
http://www.target.com/gp/help/display-contact-us-form.html?displayLink=tsm
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