A baby stroller is a kind of cart for pre-school children. There are a lot of types, for example: umbrella strollers, light strollers, double strollers and ordinary strollers. There are multifunctional strollers that can also be used as a baby’s rocking chair, rocking bed, etc. Most of the main components of the stroller contain or are made of textiles, such as the canopy, the seat cushion, the reclining seat, the safety belt and the storage basket, among others. These textiles often use formaldehyde as the crosslinking agent for cellulose resin during printing and dyeing. If quality control is not strict, the formaldehyde residue found in textiles might be too high. These residues could easily be transferred to the infant through breathing, biting, skin contact or by sucking fingers that have been in contact with those textiles. This could lead to diseases of the respiratory system, nervous system, endocrine system and immune system, and bring about adverse effects to the physical growth of infants and children.
In response to the possible hazards of the presence of formaldehyde in the textiles used for strollers, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) recently launched the quality and safety risk monitoring of textile products for strollers. A total of 25 batches of samples were collected, according to GB 18401-2010 “National general safety technical code for textile products”, FZ/T 81014-2008 “Infantwear”, GB/T 2912.1-2009 “Textiles: Determination of formaldehyde — Part 1: Free and hydrolyzed formaldehyde (water extraction method)”, GB/T 8629-2001 “Textiles: Domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing” and other standards. The textiles for baby strollers were tested separately in the original and washed states. It was found that in the original state, the residual formaldehyde content of seven batches of products exceeded the limit of formaldehyde in textile products in contact with infants and young children (20mg/kg) established in GB 18401-2010, which constitutes a safety hazard. After cleaning and re-testing, the residual formaldehyde content of all products did not exceed 20mg/kg, indicating that cleaning can effectively reduce the residual formaldehyde content in baby strollers’ textiles.
This illustrates why EC wants to remind consumers to pay attention to the safety hazards of residual formaldehyde in the textiles used for strollers when purchasing and using these products.
First of all, choose proper channels to purchase qualified strollers produced by regular manufacturers. Do not unilaterally pursue low-priced products! In China, baby strollers are obliged to complete the Compulsory Certification of China (3C). Do not buy products without the 3C logo, the name of the factory, the address, contact information or warning instructions.
Secondly, open the package and smell if there is a strong odor. If the smell is heavily irritating, avoid buying it.
Thirdly, we recommend you clean and dry the textiles of the stroller before use. This will speed up the volatilization of residual formaldehyde and effectively reduce the amount of formaldehyde waste.
Finally, bear in mind that really bright-colored baby strollers often use more dyes, which relatively speaking means that the possibility of residual formaldehyde is higher, so try to avoid buying such products.
Post time: Jul-09-2021