The LazyTown company has requested that button badges marked with it be withdrawn from sale in Iceland, and this was done after a one-and-a-half-year-old girl swallowed a pin from such a badge. Last week, the young girl was playing with a badge from LazyTown and managed to take it apart. As a result, she swallowed the very pin from a badge, but fortunately the pin slid into her in such a way that its points were facing up. That’s how the needle went down the girl’s throat, after which her parents immediately took her to the emergency room of the Land hospital. There she went for an x-ray that showed the v-shaped pin inside the girl, but since it was turned this way, it was decided to let her body return it naturally.
Demand for security
Jóhannes Gunnarsson, chairman of the Consumers Association, wonders why such an unsafe toy is sold on the market. “It must be a consumer demand that products, whether they are badges or other merchandise, are safe. If a small child can take this apart, the product is not safe and does not meet the minimum requirements. Of course, those who import the product have to make sure that it is in order.”
Tryggvi Axelsson, CEO of the Consumer Agency, takes the same line and says that it looks like this is an unsafe toy. When asked, he hopes that the institute will take care of the LazyTown pin. “Of course accidents can happen, but there is a product safety law in force. They say that manufacturers, importers and distributors may only market products that are not dangerous to people. It is an absolute basic requirement.”
“In this case I understand that the manufacturer has received permission to produce the merchandise under the label of LazyTown. Toy legislation is supposed to prevent serious hazards and small children being able to take them apart. If a product proves to be dangerous, it should be taken off the market. The description of the incident gives us reason to inquire about this product,” says Tryggvi.
Out of traffic
Einar Karl Birgisson, regional director of LazyTown in Iceland, says he is very dissatisfied with the event and has already contacted a foreign manufacturer of the pins. He points out that it is actually the manufacturer who is responsible and not LazyTown. In addition, he says the product is clearly labeled as not being intended for young children.
“The mother contacted us immediately and we have resolved this very peacefully. She kindly pointed this out to us, and it’s a good thing that sometimes such cases don’t come to us. In reality, we have nothing to say about this because we do not produce it, but gave permission to others to do so,” says Einar Karl.
“So this is not a product from LazyTown, as everyone thinks. The manufacturer is responsible and we are of course unhappy about this. I immediately reported this to the manufacturer with a demand to make sure that the pins are not so unsafe and that this part of the badge cannot be used again. Ideally, we would like this product to be withdrawn from circulation because it could have gone a lot worse. Of course, I’m glad it wasn’t.”
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