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Davie Clothing, the company behind popular loungewear brand The Oodie, has paid more than $100,000 in penalties for failing to include high fire danger warning labels to six different styles of its Kids Beach Oodie products sold via its online store.
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission issued the Adelaide-born company with six infringement notices for allegedly failing to comply with a mandatory product safety standard following an investigation triggered by a customer complaint.
The ACCC found that Davie Clothing supplied the Kids Beach designs, comprising more than 2,400 wearable hooded towels for children, without the fire label fixed to the garments or displayed on its website, as required by the safety standard.
The goods were sold to Australian consumers from 29 September 2022 to 14 July 2023, leading the ACCC to issue the company with $101,280 in penalties following its investigation.
The ACCC notes that these products were sold directly to consumers via the Oodie website and were not supplied to retailers.
The styles of the affected product are Avocado, Fruit Faces, Happy Flowers, Blue Tie Dye and Charcoal Stripe.
“Fire hazard warning labels are crucial to alert consumers to the high fire danger of products and to help keep children safe,” says ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe.
“Children can suffer serious burns if their clothing catches fire and we urge consumers to remain especially vigilant when kids are more likely to be near artificial heating or open flames.
“This serves as an important reminder to suppliers of kids clothing to ensure all their relevant products meet safety standards, particularly regarding the use of fire danger warning labels.
“Failure to take the necessary steps to comply can result in consumers being unaware of high fire danger risk, which is unacceptable. This is particularly concerning where children’s clothing is concerned.”
The Oodie is an e-commerce brand established by Adelaide-based entrepreneur Davie Fogarty in 2018, with the brand’s growing cult status leading to the sale of more than 6.5 million Oodies globally over the past eight years.
As part of a court-enforceable undertaking, Davie Clothing has implemented a compliance program that includes product safety provisions while it also has published a corrective notice on its website for a period of at least 90 days.
The ACCC notes that Davie Clothing co-operated with the ACCC’s investigation. It also points out that payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.
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