A number of top retailers stopped selling defective Simplicity bassinets that had recently led to the death of at least two infants in Kansas and Missouri. This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued another safety alert stating that bassinet models with the Graco logo and other models with Winnie the Pooh motifs were also included in the 900,000 defective bassinets that were part of a CPSC-issued alert. Graco also issued a notice on its Web site warning consumers about 17 Simplicity-made bassinet models that carry the Graco logo because of a past licensing agreement with Simplicity.

This action by Graco is the latest development in this product safety issue that has put Simplicity out of business. The company refused to issue a voluntary recall even after the product defects were pointed out. So CPSC issued a safety alert on Aug. 28 asking parents to stop using the 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible Simplicity bassinets. Large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Babies ‘R’ Us also pulled these Simplicity bassinets off of their shelves.

CPSC states that the Simplicity bassinets with the Graco logo were sold between the years 2000 and 2004. The Simplicity bassinets with the Winnie the Pooh motif were sold between the years 2002 and 2008. Simplicity and Graco have updated lists of the defective models on their respective Web sites. Consumers who own one of these bassinets are asked to stop using them right away and to return them to the store for a refund or store credit.

I find it shocking that Simplicity did not issue a voluntary recall of its defective products after two young children died in those bassinets. Had they responded to initial consumer complaints about these hazards and issued a prompt recall, these innocent lives may have been saved.