Shelcore Sears Winnie-the-Pooh Crib Soft Playground crib/playpen activity centers

Crib Soft Playgrounds Recalled by Shelcore NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 1987 Release # 87-065 Voluntary Recall of Crib Soft Playgrounds Announced WASHINGTON, DC -- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Shelcore, Inc., South Plainfield, New Jersey is voluntarily offering consumers a free replacement for their Crib Soft Playground, an activity center for use in cribs and playpens, which presents a potential strangulation hazard. The Commission and the firm are aware of the recent fatal strangulation of a 14 month old Minnesota boy who inserted his head between a loosely tied toy and the mesh on a playpen. The toy is meant to be attached to the sides of a solid structure crib or playpen by string at each of its four corners. The instructions do not advise consumers about proper string tightness or against use in a mesh-sided crib or mesh-sided playpen. When strings are not tied tightly or become loosened with use, the string between the toy and the crib may present a potential strangulation hazard if a child were to become entrapped between the toy and the crib or playpen side. The recalled activity centers measure about 11-l/2 by 14 inches. One version of the product labeled "SHELCORE CRIB SOFT Playground" was sold by a number of retailers since 1982. The other version was labeled "Winnie-the-Pooh Crib Soft Playground" and was sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co., during 1982 and 1983. Some of the activity centers were sold as part of a three-piece crib toy set (see attached sketch). Approximately 110,000 of these Crib Soft Playgrounds were imported from Taiwan and sold by retailers nationwide and in Canada. The product retails for about $9.50. Consumers should stop using the activity centers immediately and remove them from cribs and playpens. Shelcore, Inc., has redesigned the activity center using a velcro straps to secure the product close to the wooden crib or wooden playpen side and to prevent attachment to a mesh-sided crib or mesh-sided playpen. To obtain the new activity center free of charge, consumers should mail their old activity center, along with their name, address and telephone number to Shelcore, Inc., 3474 S. Clinton Ave., S. Plainfield, N.J. 07080. Postage costs will be reimbursed by the firm. To report an unsafe consumer product or receive safety information, consumers may call the CPSC toll-free hotline number at 800-638-CPSC. A teletypewriter number for the hearing impaired is (301) 595-7054.