Old Navy Defective Toys: Cute, But Potentially Deadly

Washington, DCThere was a time when we didn't worry about such things, like the button eyes coming off of a teddy bear and causing a choking hazard. All teddy bears and Raggedy Anne dolls had button eyes. But back in the day we never used to wear seat belts, either. It's a new day. And any product that tries to play by the old rules, winds up in the defective product recall bin.

Such is the case with a series of otherwise darling stuffed animals recalled by Old Navy. Last week the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in tandem with Health Canada gave its blessing to a voluntary recall of the Stuffed Animal and Creature Toys line.

The voluntary recall was announced February 19th.

The offending toys are cute as a button, but that's the problem—they feature plastic button eyes that could detach from the toy, and pose a choking hazard for young children.

The toys are colorful and come in a wide variety of styles and colors. Fashioned, and inspired by various members of the animal kingdom, the darling little toys include a rabbit, penguin and reindeer. The entire line totals nine toys, each with the feared choking hazard.

The stuffed animal toy line was imported by Old Navy LLC of San Francisco. About 35,500 of the toys were imported into the US, with another 5,400 in Canada.

The toys were made in China.

While no injuries have yet been reported, that doesn't mean to suggest there are no injuries. Rather, none have been reported. The button eyes are large enough to become lodged in a child's throat or windpipe if dislodged and swallowed. Children have been known to choke to death on items smaller than the buttons identified in this recall.

The toys were sold at Old Navy stores, and through their Web site at www.oldnavy.com from July 2008 through February 2009 for between $6 and $10. The style number is located on a white label sewn into the side seam of the toy.

Old Navy and the CPSC are advising consumers to take the toy away from young children immediately and return the offending toy to Old Navy for a full refund. However, if you have noted that a button has come off and is near, or in your child's mouth, it would be far more prudent to hang onto that toy, and that button—and contact a defective products attorney immediately.

Especially if your child has choked, or may have been harmed.

Here are the product descriptions, and style numbers:

Brown Plaid Creature (Stubby Stuberson)—612756

Pink striped dove—600571

Grey dog—600572

Hot pink creature (Lucy Toothy)—612800

White dog (Dr. Poopsie)—612738

Brown penguin—612672

Light pink rabbit—612671

Brown reindeer—612728

Dark pink rabbit (Honey O'Bunny)—612806