Kids' Halloween costumes fail fire safety tests - Which? Investigates

A Which? investigation reveals some children’s Halloween costumes are failing to meet fire safety testing standards. We tested 20 kids’ fancy dress outfits, many of which are being stocked by online and high street shops and supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Ebay and Amazon, in time for Halloween and Bonfire Night. Two of the outfits didn't meet the requirements of the British safety standard (BS EN 71-2). These were a Maleficent costume, which we bought from EBay but is made by Spanish company Fiestas Guirca and we’ve also seen stocked at Amazon, Party Delights and Magictoys.com, and a werewolf costume from B&M. The headpiece on the Maleficent outfit and the moulded mask that came with the werewolf outfit burned too quickly to pass. We informed retailers we spotted stocking the costumes that didn’t pass the British standard of our results. When we contacted B&M, it told us that the werewolf outfit has already been recalled and that it’s accepting returns, refunds and exchanges. Ebay told us that the listing featuring the Malificent costume has now been removed and it has reached out to the seller to ensure that they contact all buyers regarding this issue and to offer them a full refund. Ebay has said it will be keeping an eye out for any listings which are believed to be the same item, and stated: ‘The safety of our customers is our number one priority and we work closely with trading standards to keep our marketplace safe. We have removed this item and will continue to monitor any listings.’ Amazon told us: ‘Customer safety is our highest priority. Third-party sellers are required to comply with all relevant laws and regulations when listing items for sale on Amazon. When sellers don’t comply with our terms, we work quickly to take action on behalf of customers. The product in question is no longer available.’ We’d advise parents to watch out for these costumes being stocked elsewhere. For our full investigation visit https://ift.tt/2JgPot0. Which?: https://ift.tt/2jQCd3p Twitter: https://twitter.com/whichuk Facebook: https://ift.tt/1fAOmna