By Staff
I know there are times when manufacturers feel it is necessary to conduct a recall on their products.
Most of the recalls I've heard about involve &#8220potential” hazards. That pretty much means they are sure there is a real danger of anything bad happening to someone, but they are not taking any chances.
I appreciate that in a company. If they think the fact that a little something is in a product that is not supposed to be there might make me sick, I appreciate them letting me know. Lord knows I don't like to be sick and I certainly don't want my family to get sick either. One of the reasons I don't want my family to get sick is because it would end up being me who takes care of them while they recover.
As an example, I'm sure many people remember the recall a few months back on the Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter. I got the information on the recall and we actually did a story on the nation-wide recall. After a few days of thinking about the recall and hearing more and more about it, I decided to check my pantry for the &#8220suspect” peanut butter.
Like many people, I did have a jar of the peanut butter in question sitting in my pantry. What made the situation worse is that there was probably only a couple of tablespoons of the creamy peanut concoction in that jar. Yes, my family had practically consumed the whole jar, without getting sick.
At any rate, what I'm getting at is that I think some of the recalls I've been made aware of could be cases of over-reacting on the company's part.
Just this week, I received an email from a consumer protection group telling about the latest recalls across the nation. Two of the four recalls mentioned in the release was about buttons on clothing.
The recall information read like this: Samara Brothers is recalling Boy's Three Piece Short Sets sold nationwide from April 2006 to March 2007. The decorative fish buttons on the shorts and shirt could detach, posing a choking hazard. The set consists of green plaid shorts, a polo-style solid shirt trimmed with a blue and green stripe, and a green plaid hat. The short sets were sold in three sizes: 2T, 3T and 4T. The style number is 40873H94 GRN, which was written on the hangtag attached.
A second similar recall said that the buttons on Capri pants sold at Mervyn's could also become detached.
Here's my question: How many times have you purchased an item with buttons and over the course of time lost one or more of those buttons?
It's happened to me on many occasions. As a matter of fact, I have two pairs of Capri pants (I didn't buy them at Mervyn's) that have lost their buttons. They are the kind that has an inside button and an over-the-fly button on the outside of the pants. The buttons missing on my pants are the inside buttons and aren't completely necessary to keep the pants closed and up where they belong.
I didn't take my pants back. That kind of thing just happens. Buttons are going to come off. I know that and you know that. Everyone knows that including manufacturers. That's why most button-bearing pieces of clothing have those &#8220extra” buttons either hanging with the price tag or sewn onto the hem of the garment they go with.
Recalls are great and I appreciate the concern of manufacturers who are looking out for my well-being. I don't want to get sick or die from using a product they make.
I certainly will pay attention to recalls that could cause me to become sick and even those that could pose a serious risk of injury. But I don't think I'm going to worry about a button coming off of my clothes. It's just something that's bound to happen.
Lisa Tindell is a news writer for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.