Dialogue Across The Blogs

Since the CPSC and Carters issued public statements yesterday, other sites have continued to provide their own invaluable research and insight. We hope you will read them and share them with everyone:

ZRecommends:
http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/cpsc-releases-rash-advisory-for-carters-tagless-apparel/

Science for Sale:
http://www.scienceforsale.com/2008/10/cpsc-issues-advisory-on-carters-tagless.html
http://www.scienceforsale.com/2008/10/ava-and-carters-part-ii.html

As consumers and parents, these public statements and advisory did nothing to placate us. We believe our baby, like many others, was affected beyond just the Carters tagless Fall 2007 product line. We were initially told by Carters Consumer Affairs representative that there are "no chemicals" in these tagless clothes. Give us a break! Our baby suffered a chemical burn, which was confirmed by her pediatrician. Carters, it's time for the reality check: begin the Recall.

Legal Resources

The Official Warning is here....

Alas, we finally have U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Carters recognizing this nationwide problem with Carters tagless clothing. Please read these links:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09023.html


Carters Statement:
http://www.carters.com/Corporate/tagless_message.aspx

Carters CEO's Letter to Us (see the original)

With many requests to see the original letter, here it is:

http://picasaweb.google.com/AvasTaglessHorrorwithCarters/CartersCEOSLetterToUs#

Letter From Carters CEO, Michael Casey

Today a letter arrived at our home via Federal Express from Carters’ CEO, Michael Casey. It was handwritten and on the Carters’ CEO letterhead. Here is the content of the note:

10-23-08

Dear Mr. (our last name),

I received your email yesterday. I am very sorry to hear that your daughter developed a rash while wearing a Carter’s garment.

As a father of six children, I care deeply about the safety & health of children.

I want to assure you that we are thoroughly investing (sic) the cause of the rash.

I am committed to regaining your trust in our products. I hope you’ll give us that opportunity.

Sincerely,

/ s /
Mike Casey

This letter was sent via FedEx, and the footnote on the letterhead reads:

Michael C. Casey Chief Executive Officer

1170 Peachtree Street, Suite 900, Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Telephone 404-745-2802 Fax 404-892-3079

Email mike.casey@carters.com NYSE Listed: CRI

Here is my response, sent via email tonight:

Dear Mr. Casey,

Thank you for your letter. First, our baby Ava did not develop a rash. She was chemically burned by the Carters clothes she wore. Our pediatrician confirmed she suffered a chemical burn and not a rash. Secondly, a Carters tagless product recall and public disclosure is the only solution, which you failed to address in your letter. You are a father of six children, how many more families and babies are you willing to sacrifice?

Lastly, you cannot regain our or the public’s trust in your Carters brand until you act appropriately. We will not stop our relentless pursuit to publicize this issue until you and Carters take immediate and appropriate actions. Your products injured our baby and many others. The statistical rate of reported injuries should be an irrelevant factor in you and your company’s decision to disclose this hazard and recall your product. Do the right thing.

Sincerely,

/ s /

Public Statement...Corporate Secrets?

Last week, Carters consumer affairs assured us there would be a statement on their website addressing their tagless clothing safety issue. This person was elusive and uncomfortable when we pushed the issue, but assured us it would be addressed publicly.

Naively we misread her awkwardness and assumed Carters wanted to address this issue after they publicly announced their earnings. Today Carters publicly announced their earnings…guess what? Carters did NOT publicly address the product safety concern of their tagless clothing and did NOT update their website with any related information. Why the corporate secret, Carters? Why not take today’s opportunity to provide this important information to your consumers and shareholders?

Alas, we have exhausted the reserves of giving Carters the benefit of the doubt to do the “right thing.” We are back to where we started: with our baby who suffered five months from chemical burns caused by Carters tagless clothes and without any ongoing dialog with Carters on how they plan to fix this problem for all consumers. Carters did not respond to my note to their Executive Staff. We have not heard anything from them. How does this company decide not to respond to a consumer plea regarding a child safety issue? It is inexplicable. Does anyone have a theory?

No Response From Carters

We did not hear from Carters today. The email that is posted on this blog was sent to their entire executive team on Saturday, including their investor relations VP. The investor relations VP's email is on their website so we know he received the email. This means they are officially ignoring our issue proving they do not care about their Carters Tagless products hazard.