My son loves to pull things apart and put them in his mouth. His latest favorite is from his shirts/onesies. He wears a lot of Gap onesies, with the little bear on the chest. There is a cloth backing from the embroidery that Gap leaves in the onesies. He can (quite easily) pull the backing off from the inside of the shirt, and then he puts it in his mouth. He initially did this when he was about 9 months old, which was really concerning to me at the time. He has recently started doing this regularly.
Obviously I have since removed this cloth backing from all of his Gap shirts/onesies. I'm just surprised that a big, ?respectable company such as Gap has allowed this potential choking hazard to exist. Has anyone else come across this problem? If not, I advise you to remove the backing I described, just in case!!!
BTW what prompted me to ask this question today: our BOB stroller was just recalled due to a similar embroidery backing problem. I agree with Sam that parents need to use common sense,and that there are choking hazards all around us. I'm just surprised that Gap has not started removing these backings themselves, given how stringent most companies are with baby items. We're talking about an item that you typically leave your child alone with, possibly for hours (in bed); and even though I consider myself very careful, I still missed this one until it was in my son's mouth for who knows how long.
In all honesty, and not trying to be a smarty pants, but everything is a chocking hazard. We just need to be cautious as parents and pay attention to our kids.
Good luck!
Do bring it up to Gap, their customer service number is 1.800.GAPSTYLE (1.800.427.7895).
The more a manufacturer is aware of a problem the more apt they are to take action to fix it. What you experienced could be common problem, but until they get enough complaints they won't take steps to correct it.
I have to agree with Sam I am... I always take the backing off anything I buy and I wash it as well before putting it on them. Its not just Gap but most clothing with anything heavier than an iron on, on the front of the clothes has this backing. mainly to stop it from itching but its not on there very well.
I never had this problem but most iron ons will loosen up after a few washes. I usually sew them down. It would work with the cloth backing as well.
No company is perfect when creating merchandise. There are recalls every day for every kind of product imaginable. Redesigns of products are common. GAP is very consciensous about quality control and if you contact them and bring this issue to their attention they will follow up on it. My sister used to work in their corporate offices in San Francisco and they welcome any information they get regarding their products good or bad. They do not wish any harm to anyone nor do they want a reputation for poor products. Please let them know. In the meantime you seem to be able to solve the problem by removing the backing, so all is well for now and you can still use the product.
J., I think you are over thinking this. . . choking hazards exist EVERYWHERE. Buttons, the zipper tag can come off of things, things on the floor, a small piece can break off of a toy. I would simply not put him in Gap onesies anymore. I hardly think this is negligent of The Gap to have backing on their embroidery. Ladies, lets stop finding fault with everything and just use common sense!
