After a period of silence, we have been getting some new reports from readers of Carter's brand infant and toddler clothing causing skin rashes in an echo of the issue we reported on a year ago. The series of investigative posts by Z Recommends culminated in an advisory issued by Carter's and the CPSC, the widespread return of Fall 2008 and earlier Carter's clothing to the company for reimbursement, and an interview with Carter's CEO.

Ultimately, Carter's promised consumers that for their Spring 2009 line they were switching from one type of inked label to another, and the new one would be an "Eco" label that uses water-based inks and has "no harmful substances" (label-maker Avery Dennison's words); more critically, it conforms to Öko-Tex 100 standards for infant skin contact. They are free of Azo dyes, formaldehyde, heavy metals and vinyl (PVC) products.

But then, over the last few weeks, we started hearing from consumers whose children were experiencing the same kinds of painful rashes we heard about last summer. It was difficult to identify over email which season of Carter's clothing they were experiencing these problems with, so we decided the best route was to call Carter's to confirm that what they had told us would happen actually had happened, to try to get some images of the different tag styles so parents would have a good chance of identifying problem garments themselves, and to see if there were any new developments that might impact their Fall 2009 line, which should be hitting stores right about... now.

Carter's spokesperson Janell Cleveland suggested any new bump in reports might be linked to parents getting new sizes of baby clothes out of storage for reuse, because the company had in fact switched to the new, Öko-Tex approved labels for their Spring 2009 line, and were using them for their Fall 2009 line as well.

Here are images of the labels. ZRecs advises you not to buy Carter's children's clothing from Fall 2008 or earlier lines, new or used. You may be surprised how long these items could be on some store shelves, and should check any hand-me-downs as well. Of course, there is a chance that your child will not have any adverse reaction to the labels at all - many children don't. But to us, a possible skin irritant may indicate an exposure to something no child should be in close contact with.

Safer labels: Spring 2009 and later

Most irritating labels: Fall 2007 and earlier

Edited 10-12-09 to add: Possible reports of irritation: 2008 labels

What to do if your child has a reaction

Cleveland stated that she is unaware of Carter's having received any uptick of consumer calls or requests for reimbursements beyond what they would consider normal, but that Carter's standard customer service policy applies - if a consumer has a problem, they can call Carter's and they will work to resolve it, up to and including refunding consumers for purchased clothing and paying for return shipping.

If you have a child who has suffered from significant skin rashes due to Carter's clothing, compare the labels of the items in question with the photographs above. If the label matches the second photo, call Carter's at 888-782-9548, and comment here to tell us how they resolved your issue. If you can positively identify that the label was of the type shown in the first photo - the labels being used now, which are widely regarded as safer - call us at 979-220-0395.

Thanks to Carter's for their continued cooperation and interest in this story.