In short:
A Queensland girl sustained significant burns when wind blew sparks onto a jumper purchased from Temu, which ignited “in a split second”.
Temu recalled the jumper for failing to meet mandatory safety standards.
What’s next?
CHOICE is calling for more proactive protections for Australian consumers, in line with international legislation.
“She can’t even watch a candle be lit now on her birthday cake; she screams. Fire scares her.”
The young girl spent eight weeks in hospital in Brisbane undergoing skin graft operations.
She faces another decade of skin grafts as her body grows.
The ACCC said Australian consumer legislation did not contain a “direct prohibition on the supply of unsafe products”.
Since 2005 CHOICE has been calling for the introduction of a general safety provision (GSP), which would legislate a requirement for suppliers to ensure their products were safe before they could be sold to consumers.
“Unfortunately, Australia’s product safety regime is reactive and it can take someone being seriously injured or killed for a product to be recalled,” Mr Kelly said.
“The current reactive, largely voluntary, approach to product safety is clearly not working.”
A 2017 review of Australian consumer law also recommended the introduction of a GSP, saying it would match other OECD countries, including the UK and Canada, which had responded to the proliferation of online shopping platforms.
When I was a child in the 70s, I hung my pajamas by the wall heater, the one installed in the bathroom. Yeah. Turned into molten plastic, horrifying. I should note, GFCI circuits did not exist and we did not have grounded sockets in that 50s home.
We were bombarded with fire/electrical safety in school, houses burned down on the regular. A huge apartment building by us burned down, killed a bunch of people, because they had used pine shake shingles. Ever lit pine on fire? It burns so very bright.
Yes, dangerous products exist. Yes, government should do more to test and recall, as well as putting that onus on manufacturers. Yes, shit was far worse just a few decades ago.
Industry always tries to get around regulations though, look at the cheap flammable cladding on some newer buildings.
Good reminder for today’s survival tip. If you are ever stranded in the woods, collect hardened pine sap. It’s an excellent fire starter. If you are the ultimate survalist, turn your pine sap into turpentine for a wider range of uses.
Pine roots as well!