This is an awesome article! Thanks for the thorough investigation. I am highlighting it in Healthy Child’s Healthy World Watch today.

Thankfully my child hadn’t suffered from any reactions, butnonetheless I wanted to return the carter’s merchandise I had with these labels. of course, Babies R Us can’t take anythign back b/c there was no recall, which was understandable (I had no receipts, as the clothes were all gifts & nver worn).

So I contacted Carter’s in the beginning of October. It’s now about 3 weeks later & I am still waiting for them to send me a return SASE.

I sewed medical tape over each label instead, mostly b/c I don’t feel like dealing with them, but will absolutely NEVER buy an item from this company again. And if I ever receive anything as a gift, it’s going back to the store.

Carter’s, in these economic times can you really afford to alienate customers? Regardless, you lost this one.

I’m trying very hard to no longer buy tagless clothes for my 9 mo old daughter.  She has developed a rash where the ink touches her back and it is terrible.  I too thought it was excema and after reading your articles about the tagless merchandise, realized the truth.  I haven’t contacted Carters but will probably in the future.  There needs to be a recall.  This is unacceptable. 
Keep up the good work!!

Ok, I am so glad that this story was on the news. I also thought my daughters rash and oozing was because of some exzema and or allergy but who knows what in that tag, anyway i am finally glad to know they are admiting it’s the tag, but they do need to recall i havne’t contacted the co. yet since I learned of this late last night and today i wanted to research it and get my photos out… Thank goodness for blogs to document this sort of thing. I have a TON of carters clothes I love the cute styles they ahve but I would take a tag anyday ... much less stress… :)

I also have to mention now that she has had such exposure with these tags since we couldn’t find the cause initially. She does break out way more often but even with little tags on gerber onesies and all other clothing with tagless tags… so watchout!

On Carter’s web site FAQ it clearly says that a full refund will be issued for any clothes returned.  Why are people only receiving partial refunds from Carter’s?  This upsets me more and more every day.

We are so grateful that ZRecs continues to provide such insightful and extensive coverage on this problem.  Thank you for including us in your commentary.  We are mildly satisfied that at least Carters has made this public with the CPSC Advisory, but it will not be a complete resolution until Carters begins a formal public recall.  Defective Carters clothes are still being sold (I’ve seen it at their distributors) and mothers who may not know of this issue yet are unknowingly giving these items to friends when their babies outgrow them, who may in turn hand them down to other families. 

It’s inexplicable that Carters can still be so stubborn as to not take the right measures to RECALL the clothes—they’ve done it before so it’s nothing new for this company.  I guess it’s truly a business decision not to do so.  Again, unacceptable and inexplicable.  We will continue to try and publicize this in any way we can.  This site helped us discover what happen to our infant daughter and we will be forever grateful.  Thank you to everyone for their support and kind emails.  There is strength in numbers and the message is getting out there.

WOW I’ve always entrusted in Carter’s apparel, I choose it among most of the popular labels, due to the correct sizing and comfortable feel of the clothing. Soo far my children have not experienced any reaction to the tagless clothes!

I will continue to read up on this, thanks for the very informative blog post!

Does anyone know if OshKosh tagless are included since they were purchased by Carters in 2005????
We have fall line oshkosh and think our son had a minor reaction.  Has anyone else noticed that?

You know, you would think that sharing info like this would get some grateful repsonses.

What kind did I see? (other then the concerned ones on here):
“Well the parents should know to stop putting those clothes on their kids”
“the mother/pediatrician is at fault for not knowing”
“why should carters tell the public/issue a recall? i’m so tired of every little thing being recalled”
“i dont believe its a chemical burn”
“it was only a small % of kids who got hurt”
“i’ll continue to buy carter’s b/c its cute/cheap/ nothing happpend to my kids”

What? By that logic no cribs/carseats/ etc. should get recalled b/c “only” a few kids get hurt or die, not all of them.

Some people are so ignorant. It boggles my mind.
And this is one reason why companies continue to give their consumers the run-around. Because there are “it’s not me so why should I worry” people out there.

Sorry. I had to vent.

My son had reactions to several of the diffrent tags including 2 of the ones pictured at the top of this page. You could read the name Charters 9 months off my sons back. It was insain. Charters had contacted me to see if I had tried any of the new cloths that came out, at that time I haden’t I was to afraid to. My mother later purchased one Charters outfit from the new line because we where told they would be safe, and we tried it. My son still had a reaction to it though it was not as sever as before. I am avoiding all of their clothing including the OshKosh lines.

My baby just turned 9 months old and I had no idea of this untill my mom heard this on the news. Almost all the clothse she has are carters from her onsies to dresses to sleepers. when my baby was about a month old out of no where she had a aweful rash right on the back of her neck right where a tag would go. It was bad red and inflamed and cracking to the point it would ooze. we took her to the doctor and were told the patches of excema were common in infants. this is the only spot she has devloped anything like this and at 9 months old she still has this aweful burn like patch on the back of her neck/upper back that we put her cream on every day.

My baby is 8 months old and she has always had sensitive skin. I thought the rash on her upper back was connected to that, but the rest of her back is fine. It just blows my mind that I have spent the last eight months purchasing organic baby washes and lotions and spending ALOT of money trying to avoid chemicals and harsh detergents only to find out that it is in her clothing! This is my second daughter and she is wearing a lot of hand me downs from her older sister (now 2 years old). My older daughter doesn’t have sensitive skin and had no reaction. So beware of thinking what was ok for one is ok for another. I want to add that the tags that are affecting my daughter are the smaller tags, and the rash isn’t as severe as some of the photos I have seen, but is definetely bad enough to be very uncomfortable for my baby.

I bought 2 adult tshirts this summer from another big company which also had tagless labels.  My skin itched so badly within minutes that I nearly threw away the shirt.  Instead, I stitched pieces of soft cotton over the labels and I can now wear the shirts.  The process of labelling is like that of printing some designs on the front.  I’ve never felt comfortable with heavy screen prints on shirts.  These labels are apparently like wearing screen-printed shirts inside-out.  Note: adults can be sensitive to these labels.  This issue may have to be addressed in a wider forum.  Otherwise, you’ll just be hearing people say, “Your baby will just outgrow it.” Maybe she or he won’t.

I’m a family physician.
A “chemical burn” is an irritation that occurs always or at least very often after exposure to a certain chemical.  “Contact dermatitis” is an allergy that occurs in response to a chemical in susceptible persons.  Examples are the chemical burn of battery acid on anyone’s skin, versus the contact dermatitis in response to nickel in jewelry in some persons.  The pictures on Ava’s blog are not rare for contact dermatitis. 

So I disagree with the doctor’s diagnosis of a “chemical burn” in “Ava’s Tagless Horror” blog, in that not all exposed persons develop the rash.  Her child is sensitive to the dye in the label.  It seems to me that the scientifically incorrect term the doctor used: “chemical burn” is likely designed to sympathize with the parents’ understandable fright and anger.

To Kenm, I find it highly unlikely that Ava’s pediatrician used the term “chemical burn” to “sympathize with the parents.” Someone practicing that kind of medicine would quickly be out of a job. He was concerned enough about the “wound” to spread the word not just among his colleagues at his hospital, but also to spread the word among the entire pediatric community of San Francisco, which is where he practices. Ava’s wound was weeping, oozing, and, as you read in the blog, was susceptible enough that she contracted a staph infection through it.

Incidentally, several pediatricians have seen Ava’s pictures, which were broadcast on a local television station here in Minneapolis, and while they said it is possible it could be contact dermatitis, they’ve never seen a case so severe. I don’t think Ava’s wounds are “not rare for contact dermatitis.”

this is a great article. my daughter had a severe reaction that left her miserable for months because we did not know what was causing her rash. when i finally realized it was the tags on her clothing i called carter’s to ask what the ingredients were so that i knew for medical purposes what she was allergic to. Carter’s refused to return my phone call and refused to inform me of what was in their products. they overly stressed that it was not harmful to kids and then gave me a list of what was not in the products. i called several times to seek more information due to my daughters skin being so bad and her in so much discomfort however i received no response. i feel this is poor business report and they should be held reliable for their products and all the children who have suffered.

Hello to the Z Recs gang.  I appreciate your research and dedication, but I have to say that I think you’re going a bit far.  Do you really want to vilify and possibly bankrupt Carter’s?  But let me back up.  I have no financial or other interest in Carter’s except as a mother of two young children and as a consumer.  I don’t mind saying that I like Carter’s due to the higher quality of their clothing than some other brands and their reasonable prices.  My kids are also very sensitive.  My 17-month-old daughter especially is no stranger to rashes.  She probably comes down with one once a month, and I have identified a number of products that irritate her skin.  Among them are Huggies diapers, Pampers diapers (now only Seventh Generation touches her skin), Vicks Vapo-Rub, most soaps, and All brand laundry detergent.  Yes, I avoid those brands now.  Am I calling for a class action lawsuit and a product recall of all Pampers diapers due to the month-long diaper rash which was borderline psoriasis?  No.  Carter’s is a company with a good reputation, a long history, and it produces generally good products.  I gather from your report that Carter’s is trying to rectify the situation but is perhaps limited by their financial situation.  Let’s respect that this company is trying to act in good faith, and respond in kind.

My 12 month old has a rash at the top of her back. It is not as severe as Ava’s. It just looks like red irritated skin and she has started scratching at it. About a month ago, I purchased a pack of carters onesies and about 4 different pairs of PJ’s. This is when I started to notice the rash, and in the exact same spot that the label touches her skin. I purchased all of the items new at full price from toys r us. I assume that they are from the 2008 line and they do have the stenciled label. Has anyone else noticed a reaction from the more recent and stenciled label garments?

My son developed a severe burn in the late winter spring of 08.  I did some research and found it to be form the carter’s clothing.  It was horrible it took months to heal and countless doctor’s visit’s the poor baby.  Something must be done about this.  I am willing to work with anyone in an effort to recall all items so this does not continue.  Please email me with any info you may have.  .

I am also now sewing a fabric piece over all brand clothing just to be safe I no longer buy cater’s

Thanks so much Jamie

the refund that i was given from carter’s from sending back all of my fall 07 clothes was FAR less than i expected. stupidly i trusted them and did not take inventory of what was in the mailer before i sent it out. after receiving my checks, i called carter’s to ask about the breakdown of the refund. i was told that i was given the actual selling price of each item--the highest amount that it ever sold for in a store. this does not reflect the msrp amount on the tag of each item. there’s nothing i can do to prove them wrong, i have to trust that they’re doing what they say they’re doing.

which is where all the trouble has come from in the first place… my baby only got a few dots on the base of her neck from the “tags,” and they were mostly intermittent, but they have gone away completley now that she has stopped wearing those items.

I can understand not wanting to villify carters maybe it did nothing to 2 year olds. I love there clothing too thats why I bought so many of them.

But I trusted this brand name and these clothes on my new born primee girl and 9 months later her back still has a burn like sore on it, and if they are aware of this and still selling the clothing to other newborns with tender skin they need to stop!

Im sure any mom who had to deal with this for a week let alone 9 months of there baby in pain would agree. If you want to reffer to it as a chemical burn or contact dermatitus to call it a minor rash is to down play it. especialy after repeatedly using the clothing not knowing thats whats been causing it in the first place.

My daughter at 8 months also has a rash/burn on the back of her neck and back. As many others did, I was putting the tagless clothing on her because I thought the tags were irritating her skin not knowing it was these clothes. I have a large garbage bag of clothes and am waiting to hear from Carters. Even a week after cleaning out her clothes I am still battling with the skin irritation. I am anxious to hear what they are going to do.

Also....My daughter has broken out severely and we have all STENCILED labeled clothing, not the solid background tags.

Well I have a few comments- First I too have experienced a reaction to lines other than Fall 07.  I was told by carters that once a child has had a reaction they are more sensitive and could have a reaction to other lines.  I have not sent in for my refund yet but was told on the phone that I would receive MSRP.  But they also let me know that I would only receive full MSRP if I returned all pieces to an outfit.  For example I have several 2 piece sets that the bottoms have regular tags and the tops are tagless.  You must return both in order to get a full refund.  And for Lindsey try hydrocortisone cream or ointment if its not oozing.  It helped us a lot!  Good Luck and I am interested in the amount of peoples refunds???

My son got his rash at 3 months. He is now 9 months and the rash just went away - it now looks like dry skin. I had 2 trips to the Dr’s office + the 4 and 6 month visits to check it out. I was told it was from tags and to use hydrocortisone cream to treat it. I spoke with a women today at Carters and she is sending me postage paid bags to return my clothes for a full MSRP refund (dont go to a store or outlet, go directly through the corporate office). I will be doing an inventory of everything I am sending back to make sure I get proper reimbursement. I still love the brand and will continue to purchase clothing from them. After the women explained to me about the tags, I understood that a square patch that size on the skin keeps the skin from breathing which causes the reaction. It is the same ink they have always used and same company that makes the ink. Babies like adults have sensitive skin and will get reactions. If an adult gets itchy skin from a sweater, they stop wearing it - they dont sue the sweater manufacturer.

For months my daughter has been scratching her neck, the back of her head, and behind her ears, until she bleeds!  I’ve changed the soap, shampoo, lotion, and her diet, thinking one of these things might be the cause.  I can’t believe it’s the clothing I’ve been putting her in, makes total sense and makes me feel awful!  It seems like everything she wears is tagless, where do I find clothes with tags???  Is there a way to remove the tags?  If they’re heat transferred, can I iron them off?  Why isn’t the media up in arms over this???  Why did I only find out because of a five second news story my mother saw?

MY HUSBAND JUST SAW THIS ON THE NEWS. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY MY SON CALLED AND IN OUR CONVERSATION STATED HIS 10 MONTH OLD HAS A RASH ON HIS NECK AND UPPER BACK. HE IS PLANNING TO TAKE HIM TO THE DR. I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE TAGS AND SURE ENOUGH THEY HAD JUST PURCHASED SEVERAL NEW CARTER OUTFITS AND PJ SETS. NEEDLESS TO SAY NO MORE CARTERS FOR MAX. WE ARE GOING TO TRY THE HYDROCORTISON CREAM TOO. THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE POSTED HERE & THE TIPS. THANKS FOR YOUR RESEARCH AND FOLLOW UP. WE NEED A RECALL ITS ABOUT THE BABIES NOT THE COMPANY. BABIES CANT TELL YOU WHATS WRONG AND PEOPLE TRUST THE CLOTHING THEY PUT ON THE BABIES. MY FAMILY IS EXPECTING 4 MORE BABES THIS YEAR AND COUNTLESS FRIENDS ARE EXPECTING, YOU BET IM SPREADING THE WORD.

My son is a victim of this horrible happening also as I have posted before.  I response to a few earlier comments.
I have (back in May) completely stopped using all carter’s products and in clothing that contains tagless tag which is everthing( except for a brand I found call spasilk at Burlington ) I bought some thick soft fabric and have a lady sew squares over EVERYTHIG tagless just in case. 

My son was treated with several topical steroid creams including hydorcortizone.  I am no expert and every baby is different but I had amazing results form Eucerin brand Aquaphor Healing Oimtment.  Just remember these are burns in my opinion that our babies have gotten not eczema.
Just telling what worked finally for us.  I applied it like 4 times a day with latex free gloves on.  I felt that was important since it was a open area.

If we all as parents, grandparents, friends and humans stick together and spread the word on this something will be done it just has to be.  Please also file a complaint with the consumer product safety commission the more they get the better in my opinion. 
Thank you all

MY SON HAS HAD A RASH/BLISTERY RED SPOT FOR OVER 2 MONTHS - WE WERE TOLD MAYBE EXZCEMA OR BUG BITE...THEY WERENT SURE EVEN AFTER NUMEROUS DR VISITS WE COULDNT DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS, WE NOW FEEL/KNOW ITS A CHEMICAL REACTION/BURN FROM THE CARTERS TAGLESS CLOTHES. IT BUBBLED ONE NIGHT THEN POPPED AND OOZED. IT DID HEAL AFTER NEOSPORIN...BUT I FELT HORRINLE FOR MY BABY BOY! AND WE STILL CANT CLEAR THE RED PATCH UP. I HAVE A TON OF ITEMS - SO FAR WE COUNTED 20+ BUT ITS NOT JUST THE FALL 2007 LINE ITS ALL OF IT, AT LEAST FOR MY SON ITS ALL TAGLESS. EITHER THAT OR THEY ARE AGGRAVATING THE CONDITION FRIN THE INITIAL SPOT! AND SADLY OLD NAVY, TARGET & GAP ARE USING THEM NOW TOO - WE CANT GET AWAY. (THE ONLY PLACE I CAN FIND THAT USES TAGS IS GYMBOREE & CRAZY 8) WE ARE HOPING THIS MARK OR NOW SCAR WILL FINALLY CLEAR UP AND HE WONT BE SCARRED FOR LIFE BY THEIR NEGLIGENCE. YES THEY ARE WILLING TO TAKE IT ALL BACK & REFUND - BUT BY DOING THAT THERE GOES YOUR EVIDENCE. A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT MUST BE STARTED NOT EVEN FOR THE $$ BUT FOR THE FACT THEY WONT RECALL! AND THE FACT THEY ALLOW BABY CLOTHES TO BE MADE WITH THESE DANGEROUS CHEMICALS FULLY KNOWING WHAT COULD HAPPEN. THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THE $$$! THERE ARE TONS OF BABIES OUT THERE REACTING IT BREAKS MY HEART! PLEASE CALL THE CPSC IF THEY GET ENOUGH CALLS THEY WILL BE FORCED TO RECALL! GOOD LUCK TO ALL, SPREAD THE WORD SO NO MORE BABIES GO THROUGH THIS. THANK U
NICOLE

My child has experienced a reaction to the tagless brand Just One Year (a company of Carters sold at Target). It is the stenciled tagless, not the box type shown on the website. I have already contacted Carters asking them to test all of their lines.
CAN ANYONE SUGGEST A BRAND OF ONESIES THAT ARE MADE THAT STILL USE TAGS INSTEAD OF TAGLESS? I have searched all of the local shops to no avail. Thanks in advance.

I have found a brand of onsies at Burlington Baby Depot called Spasilk that still have “oldSchool” tags . They are a bit more$ but great quaity.  I also sew fabric swatches over everything tagless no matter what brand.  Since my son had the burn I trust no brand that is so horrible to feel this way.  Hope you have luck.  Also I do find stuff at gymboree .

I have started a page for moms that have been effected by this to post there pics and stories. I thought that maybe if we had a place where we could put all of this together they could see this is widespread. So if you want to tell your story or post your pics Send them to and I will post them here
http://cartertstaglessnightmares.blogspot.com/

I posted several comments regarding my at the time 5 month old son at the previous board with zrecommends where my son had broke out in a rash due to wearing Carter’s tagless both 2007 and 2008 clothing line when he was 3 months old (not too bad) and became worse when he was 4 months+
even though I was told by Mary W (Carter’s) that the defected garments were from their Fall 2007 line only.  My son is still healing (slowly), but has gotten a lot better than what you saw in his pictures that I’ve posted.  I did send Carter’s all 79 tagless garments on Monday, Oct 20th, 08, but haven’t heard back or received any full reimbursement for the 79 tagless garments I sent back.  It’s been 2 full weeks so if I don’t hear back from Carter’s or receive the check by the following Monday, Nov 10th then I’m calling Carter’s back to see what’s the hold up is.  Because my son’s whole wardrobe was basically Carter’s tagless I did have to buy whole new wardrobe for my son from Old Navy.  Some of his new onesis have tags and some are tagless, but Old Navy’s tagless aren’t giving my son any rashes as Carter’s tagless did so I’m glad that he’s not allergic to Old Navy’s tagless clothes.

Note to Elizabeth Swanger: I will keep you updated to how much my refund is.  I sent 79 Carter’s tagless garments back, which I spent a lot of money on (estimate of $250-$300) plus my family and my in-laws have spent extra money on my son’s clothes as well.

I have just written a long e-mail to Carter’s because my 4 month old granddaughter broke out in hives today wearing a Child Of Mine outfit made by Carter’s for Wal Mart that was STENCILED. I have kept her since she was born, and this was the first time I ever saw her acting as she did today. I have raised 5 children, and she is my 4th grandchild so I know what I am talking about. I have another granddaughter allergic to anything COLD that also breaks out in hives all the time. I immediately took the suit off of her and washed her and wrapped her in a sheet. Then she finally laid and slept in my arms. It was actually big red blotches. Her mother works only 5 minutes away and did not believe me because Wal Mart has issued no warning about any Carter’s clothes at her store. She does not eat yet, and only drinks Wal Mart formula. It had not been washed. She did not break out from anything here, she is here every day. I know they are saying only the full tags and no stenciled ones, but hers was stenciled and made in China...Cathy

If anyone whose baby has been affected by Carters tagless clothing is interested in speaking to a media outlet doing an investigative story on this, please contact me and I will provide the producer’s cellphone and office line.  I think the more publicity this receives, the better to keep all parents, consumers, pediatricians and the public at large informed on Carters defective merchandise.  Here is my email: .
Thank you,
Janet

To the person whose grandchild broke out in hives:  please always wash clothing and bedding before using it for the first time.  Fabrics are treated with chemicals which absolutely can irritate the skin.  With a sensitive person, you should probably also choose dye free, fragrance free detergent, and consider adding white vinegar to the rinse water, which I have read helps to break down the detergent.  I am wondering whether some percentage of the dermatitis parents are describing could be due to detergent.

I am very concerned about the antibody legacy this could be causing when children were exposed at such a young age?  I went through 6-7 months of this before figuring it out, also with no help from my pediatrician.<b><b>
My daughter had not only the rash, but also total body eczema, which disappeared for good when I got rid of the offending tags.  Had no idea before today this was an issue others shared--but it was on my mind since I had to take my 13 month-old to an allergist today because her body is now reacting to OTHER things . . . <b><b>
Anyone with any allergy knowledge please respond--I might call my allergist back tomorrow now that I’ve read all this!

Lindsey,
I think the majority of these parents are actually suffering from these tags. I think that the majority of parents know that detergent is the main culprit. Also anyone who doesn’t know and asks the dr. the first thing they will tell you is, watch the detergent you are using.

I agree, wash things first… I think mostly all of us do that. good luck!

lindsey… fyi we are very aware of washing clothing & bedding, dyes and frangrances in detergent and soaps, dyes and chemicals in clothing (even socks) frangrances in perfumes, cleaner, air freshners, etc. as all 3 of my children have sensitive skin as do i and my husband. my son(father to my grandson who has the “rash") is also aware of this. and to this day only uses dove soap dye and fragrance free detergent certain cleaners and fragrances and wears only white socks(due to dye in socks).  so thank you for the info. but the rash is not due to any of those. but others may not be aware of those causes so your comment can be helpful. please just don’t brush off the concerns of others because each one is an individual so the cause of any kind of illness/rash should always be a concern and all avenues followed to find the culprit and correct it. for health’s sake.

While I’m very sorry to hear that so many babies are having reactions to the dyes in these tagless tags, I’m really hoping they don’t totally eliminate tagless items, but instead try to find a better process or ingredients to make them.  Our 9 month old daughter has always had extremely sensitive skin.  We use no fragrances in our home and bathe her only with a homemade goats’ milk soap a friend of our sells because it’s the only thing we’ve found that doesn’t cause a rash.  She gets a rashy spot on her neck from ANY clothes with tags, even all-organic cottons with fabric tags, so the only way she can wear them without breaking out is if I remove the tag completely (as in removing the stitching so it doesn’t leave a ridge, not always easy to do) or if she wears one of the tagless onesies from Carters’, Circo, etc. underneath.  For us, it would be a disaster if they went back to using only tags, even the older style cloth tags!

As I have written before my son suffered from a burn form Carter’s clothing and a rash that covered his entire body at the onset of the burn on upper body I see that this happened to someone else does any one have any ideas on why this may of happened??  What did you mean by antibody legacy??

Thanks so much

The only reason I knew it had not been washed was because I asked my son. I am really very stuck here being disabled and having no car, 1 of my daughters does my laundry for me. This situation grew into a war last night because of Karlei’s mother who did not believe me, and would not drive 5 or 10 minutes from Wal Mart to come see for herself. This is the 2nd time I have had to criticize her, the first time because she decided it was ok to switch the baby’s formula from Similac to Wal Mart brand after asking the PHARMACIST. I told my son NEVER do that again, you talk to her PEDIATRICIAN. That is why there are baby doctors. She refused to come here and read all I have read and see the pictures I have seen of injured children and told him I just like to complain. This is NOT true, I have done all I could to help the kids get started in their own home. I watch Karlei and do not charge them, and she just does not care. My son ended up calling me last night and yelling at me that the next time anything happened like that I was not to take her suit off but to call him and wait 1 hour until he gets home from the city to take her to the E.R. I spent half my night crying that this blew up into what it has because she chooses to be ignorant in my opinion. I had no ink to print it up. I just pray she does not show up here again in ANYTHING Carters. The woman does not even send me a change of clothes for the baby. I am hoping to get one of my children to take me out to a store or second hand shop. They will wash it all for me and at least I will have something else to put her in. It floors me a new mother would care so little..and call me a liar after I raised 5 children. Today she is not here but will return tomorrow, so I have today to resolve all this within my heart. Cathy

RE: detergents--yes, I’m sure that could be a factor for some but I also use completely dye, scent, and optical brightner free non-allergenic detergent in my own very clean washer so don’t think that was the case with me.

RE: antibodies--I’m talking about the fact that we don’t feed our kids eggs, nuts, cow’s milk, etc prior to age one because these are common allergens, and to develop an allergy you have to be exposed to the substance and create the antibody to its particular protein (science person I am not so help me out allergy buffs).  SO if this is a true systemic allergic response, which I am thinking it is from the presence of the eczema, then my little daughter was repeatedly exposed to this substance for the first six months of her life and I don’t know what the substance is to avoid it later.  This is a bit fantastical but here is my point:  when she is 5 and puts on a screen printed t-shirt she goes into anaphalactic shock from her body’s hyped up immune response learned at this young age.

This might not be the case, but that is the question I am posing for my allergist--and also why I think it is completely ridiculous that Carters won’t just give us an ingredient list.

Dear Cathy,
I’m very sorry to hear that you are in a difficult situation with your stubborn son and daughter-in-law, but I’m sure that baby is fortunate to have you in her life!  In regards to clothing, maybe it would be a good idea for you to pick up some used clothing at Goodwill to keep at your own home for the baby (as backup).  I also had some additional thoughts on hives.  A baby with hives really should see the pediatrician since hives can have a variety of causes.  My son and I are both predisposed toward hives, and we both get them when we are fighting a virus.  For example, a few years ago I had a terrible case of hives and saw the allergist for extensive allergy testing, only to come down with a urinary tract infection a few days later, which was probably the real cause.  My son gets hives pretty frequently, and when I see some spots I can expect that in a day or two he’ll be under the weather.  I have also noticed that hyper behavior goes along with hives - I personally feel jittery with hives.  I would also suggest that you ask the pediatrician about having some allergy medication (such as Benadryl) on hand in your home, and make sure you know the proper dose.  I am not a pediatrician, so I’m not sure whether such a young infant can even take Benadryl.

To those I have apparently offended with advice about detergent, I am not trying to discount anyone’s claim of a reaction to a tag.  I was trying to give Cathy some suggestions because she said the outfit was unwashed.  However, the truth is that I think it is possible that some people may reach the easiest conclusion rather than the more difficult conclusion that there may be multiple factors involved.  In my own experience, my husband and I bought a front-loading washer 1 1/2 years ago which requires high efficiency detergent.  At the time, the only high efficiency detergent available in stores had a strong fragrance.  I bought it (against my better judgment since I have used fragrance free stuff for a while) since that is what my washer requires, and surprise, surprise, both of my kids got rashes.  For those of you who might be in a similar predicament, my pediatrician recommended using a small amount of regular (not high efficiency) “free” detergent and adding a small amount (I use about a tablespoon) of Downey brand fragrance free fabric softener along with the detergent (not the rinse cycle).  This is necessary because regular detergents may produce too many suds and prevent the washer from rinsing and draining properly.  I have found that this works - in any case I have not ruined my washer yet.  I also add a little white vinegar to the rinse cycle for good measure.  Nowadays, fragrance and dye free detergent for high efficiency washers is more widely available.  I guess my point is that in my case, choosing the right detergent was easier said than done and required some effort. Other people may also be experiencing complicated causes and symptoms (detergent or otherwise), and it is not always very simple to resolve the root of the problem. That’s it for my treatise!

Just an update RE: antibodies . . .

If this is being caused by the PVC/phthalates then it is most likely what is medically known as an “irritation,” not an allergy.  Important distinction . . . because if you stop exposing the kids to the labels your problem goes away--where if it were truly an allergy there might be more to the story going on in the child’s immune system.

Guess I’ll wait to see what else is revealed, didn’t mean to freak anyone out with my curiosity. 

And Lindsey, you are so correct about how it is usually the last thing we expect that is truly causing something, or a bizarre combination of things.  On my final “pie in the sky” thought--I saw information that said 17 studies had shown that phthalates caused heightened immune response in children--meaning they would suddenly develop allergies to things they wouldn’t have otherwise.  I’m sure that will never get proven/sorted out in our lifetime--but that would be sad if it were the case with all of us!  Would be curious to know in 5 years how many of our kids have allergies.  Wouldn’t prove causation, but would be interesting.

I will now be posting as Lindsey W since there are two Lindsey’s on the board one who infant has been negatively affected by these tagless garments and one who’s children hasn’t. As a mom who has gone through this for 8 months I can say that I have found what has been causing the sore on my infants back and it was not her detergent as this was one of the many items we went through trying to figure out what was causing this. I would not say that my baby has sensitive skin, she has not reacted to anything else, eats all kinds of fruits and veggies and I’m proud to say has never even had more than a spot of diaper rash.  Her sore is nothing to make light of, it has caused her a lot of pain and countless sleepless nights, she Screams any time you lay her on her back and out wake up crying in the night if she even rolled over on to her back and still won’t sleep on her back.  Some cases of this sore were mild and some were much worse, 90% of my babys wardrobe was from carters as this was a brand I trusted.  I’m not trying to make light of hives or any other Childs rashes, can these awful labels cause hives or to spread all over the body I don’t know I’m not a doctor. What I do know is that its not detergent to blame it’s the tags for hundreds of mothers out there who have all reported this same sore. All located in the same place, and I’m sure there are hundreds more who just haven’t figured it out yet as Carters would rather keep this quiet and bribe you with a teddy bear and a partial refund to collect your evidance and sweep this under the rug then care that they caused harm to hundrends of children. We as parents need to get the word out to other moms and dads and Carters needs to take responsibility for what their clothing is doing. This harmful clothing is still on the shelves still in stores just waiting to be purchased and given at a baby shower or placed on some unsuspecting newborn and it makes me Sick!

I applaud all the parents who have discovered that the tagless clothes caused their babies’ injuries and not being discouraged by all of their efforts to deduce the core problem that these tagless clothes are hurting our children.  Of course we have tried everything to figure out what is hurting our kids by eliminating or changing detergents, using all the prescribed topical creams, changing to other clothing brands, seeing pediatric specialists and doing everything possible to protect our them.

Carters and these other manufacturers refuse to release the ingredients of their tagless labels and issue a formal recall.  Thank goodness other parents have not experienced our problem with their babies, because it’s truly a nightmare to live through...witnessing their babies pain and in spite of all efforts noticing the wound is still there until they either stopped using these hazardous clothes, removed/covered the tagless area or had a pediatrician who pinpointed the problem.

Lindsey W, Cathy C. and all the parents here, you are taking a brave stance for your child/grandchild and mothers like myself are truly grateful.  Our children are too young to be their own advocates and as parents or grandparents or caregivers, we should try to do everything possible to protect them.  A public warning would have been a fair disclosure and we would have at least been given a choice, but Carters is too afraid to have anything cut into their bottom line.  Since they are still making profit off of our children’s backs and Carters continues to ignore our pleas, I suppose the only other methods to have them listen will be media outlets and perhaps through legal redress.

My daughter developed a mild,slightly red, very small bumpy rash on her back last October.  By december her doctor diagnosed it as mild dermatitis and reccomended we put Eucerin on it.  It continued to get worse throughout the winter and by March we were referred to a dermatologist.  The rash had spread down her back, up her neck, and across her shoulders and arms.  It became patchy and yellowish in color.  The dermatologist diagnosed it as Mastocytosis, a potentially deadly disease.  After this episode in March the rash faded and has gone away completely.
After reading about this problem with the Carter’s tags I believe this is what she was suffering from and not mastocytosis.  She began wearing the fall 07 clothing line around the same time the rash developed and it went away when she outgrew those clothes.  It turns out that every pair of pajamas she wore every night all winter long and a couple of our favorite one peice outfits were from the affected line.
Has anyone else seen a plaque-like, yellowish or brownish rash like this from the tags?  As unfortunate as this rash is I would rather she have this than mastocytosis!

This is to Kelly:

I had a similar experience to ehat you are describing.  My daughter got a red bumpy rash that started on her upper back and neck and spread quite rapidly.  I tried everything and nothing helped.  We were also told that it was in our case contact dermatitis.  I heard about the tag thing a while before this and never put it together but while our rash never got tot he brown yellow stage it has almost completely cleared up in the 3 weeks since I stopped using the carters clothing.  We also got the rash when she grew into the Fall 07 line and got rid of the rash when we stopped using carters.  I have stopped using it all together and I have also stopped using products made in China.  After lead toys, poison candy and clothes I am just done!

Thanks, Zrecs for this thorough post.  I have several of these and will be on the lookout for this, or retire them altogether.

I also just linked to this post from http://non-toxickids.net.

Has anybody received their reimbursements from Carters yet?  I was told by a rep it would take three to four weeks.  Thanks!

Note to Shannon:  I’m suppose to receive my full retail refund of $607 sometime tomorrow if not Saturday the latest for the 79 Carter’s tagless I sent back on 10/20/08.  I was going to call back Carter’s on 11/10/08 because it has been close to 3 full weeks since I heard from them and just last Friday (11/7/08) was when I got a message (I was out on errands) from the rep I spoke to originally on 10/16/08 the day I originally complained.  When I made that complaint my son was only 5 months old (now 6 months old), but I first saw a breakout (rash) when he was just 3 months old, but when he got closer to 4 months was when his rash started getting worse and worse.

The rep you spoke to sounds about right.  The message I got from the rep I spoke to sounded concerned, wanted to know how my son was doing, which I left a message with another rep because the rep I spoke to had gone home for the day and I had the 2nd rep take a message for me letting her know (1st rep) that, “My son still has a rash on his back, but it’s not as bad as it was when we first spoke.” His rash is fading away, but the rash is still visible on his back.  Almost scaly and dry.  Anyways, it takes time to receive reimbursement checks from Carter’s is because once you send back all their defected clothes Carter’s sends them to their processing dept, which they will investigate more thoroughly.  Once your rep receives the garments back is when he/she calls you back to see how your daughter/son is doing and mentions about your full retail refund while at the same time the rep is waiting for their accounting dept to issue out your reimbursement check and because I was told that Carter’s only mails out checks once per week the rep I spoke to told me that she’ll send my 3 checks via Overnight mail because I’ve waited for so long and my son’s whole wardrobe was basically all by Carter’s tagless.  Prior to sending my son’s defected clothes back to Carter’s is when I had to buy a whole new wardrobe for him, which I ended up with Old Navy’s.  Some of their garments are also tagless, but my son hasn’t broken out in a new rash or anything like what Carter’s tagless did to my son so I’ve been very happy with Old Navy’s clothes. 

Anyhow, I originally posted several comments here:
http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/carters-responds-to-zrecs-inquiry/ and I had also provided several pictures of my son’s rash from wearing Carter’s tagless. 

This was taken on 10/11/08:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/Pic16.jpg

Because the above picture was a bit blurry I had taken these pictures on 10/17/08:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/M.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/M2.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/M3.jpg

I had taken these pictures on 11/2/08:
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/Pic5.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/Pic6.jpg
http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp155/Cooper67/Pic7.jpg

Lastly, my son’s rash has subsided since I no longer use any Carter’s tagless garments excluding bibs/pants and in a few weeks the rash will fade away, but right now his rash is currently still visible on his back, which is red, scaly and dry, but it’s not as bad as it was in the above pictures from 11/2/08.

Wow - Thanks!  My daugher is only 7 weeks old and the rash started at 5 weeks - the skin was even flaking. :( I sent back almost ALL her winter clothing.

I wanted to update on our experience. I sent back three full bags (provided overnight by Carters along with a teddy bear) of clothing, most used and some new. It took 3 and a half weeks to finally get my refund (they told me there was an issue with accounting at the particular time I was expecting my refund so it took longer than most apparently), but I was satisfied with it at a total of $660.

My daughter’s rash healed fairly quickly after eliminating the tagless items from her wardrobe, and is completely clear now. I have been keeping my eyes out in the stores on the tags and am finding that Carters is now making tagged clothes again. Some are even sewn all the way in where the stamp previously was. Their tagless items are still on the floor, but I do not see the “Fall of 07” line of tags out any more - at least where I shop. I’m happy to know Carters is making an active effort in correcting the problem. Perhaps one day I will be able to purchase their tagged items again.

Thank you for this blog, BTW. It’s very informative and I can only hope that no more babies have to suffer from this terrible “rash.”

I wanted to get clarification from everyone.  Is this only Carters tagless tags that are causing the problem?  I noticed someone here said that Old Navy tagless tags are fine.  Looking through my 3 kid’s wardrobe I am finding tagless tags from Cherokee, Sonoma, Childrens Place, Old Navy, Circo, Faded Glory, Hanes- just to name a few.  Should I be getting rid of all of these items? 

Also, does anyone have a suggestion on a brand of plain white undershirts with tags?  The Hanes are tagless.

Thanks everyone!

Stephanie, we have heard a few reports from readers about problems with Baby Gap and Circo. We have not heard of problems with any other brands, but that really isn’t enough to base a decision on! Many parents are choosing to discontinue use only if their child has a reaction, while others prefer to avoid whatever chemicals are causing the reaction, even if their child does not have an allergic response.

We have posted more recently about this issue here, with an interview with the CEO of the company. In it, we find additional evidence to support our suspicion that the substances involved in these reactions are likely to be phthalates, many of which are undergoing a ban from use in February 2009. This would mean that most of these companies have either changed to a phthalate-free tagless label already or will be doing so for any items they distribute after the new year.

Hope all of this helps you make your decision.

Note to Ashley: 

When you got your full refund check did you receive it via overnight if not how long did you have to wait for it until you received it in the mail?  The reason I ask is because I was promised by Carter’s that I would receive my full refund via overnight, which I should have gotten it this past Friday, but when I went to go check out my mail I didn’t get anything.  I just checked Saturday’s mail (yesterday) and still nothing.  I am very disappointed with Carter’s altogether at this point.  They sent most of us overnight pre-paid envelopes for our clothes (evidence) and I don’t understand why they can’t send us overnight checks as they said and promised in this case.  I kept the message on my machine for evidence. 

If you can reply back to me (on here) that would be great.

Response to Lisa:

No, it took 3 and a half weeks to get the refund check as opposed to the two they told me it would take. After 3 weeks I called them and asked them where the check was and they told me they were having issues with the accounting department, but I should be receiving it by the end of the week; and I did. I have not read of anyone being told they would receive their refund check overnight though; from what I am to understand is that most, if not all, have been told it would take two weeks for the refund. I know the package wasn’t an overnight package and then they still have to process the entire return order. If you had a receipt the process is only about a week, but without one it’s about two weeks (due to an extra process it takes to figure out full retail, as I am to understand and makes perfect sense). I’d suggest waiting out the two weeks for the refund and if you don’t hear anything by then, definitely call and check up on it.

Also, I wanted to mention to everyone that my refund amount was a reflection of a LOT of Carters tagless clothing. I have three children and Carters was my favorite children clothing. I returned three very full bags to Carters, so most probably shouldn’t expect the amount I was refunded.

Thanks Shannon for replying back to me.

I was out on an errand this morning that when I got back home I got another message from Carter’s letting me know that they mailed my refund check via overnight so I would get it tomorrow morning sometime. 

My 6 month old son still has his rash caused by Carter’s on his back, but the rash is getting smaller and smaller and I hope his back will heal without any scars.

Hi, my name is Harry Shulman, and I am a lawyer in the San Francisco, CA area.  I was contacted by a mother claiming her child had a very severe reaction to a Carter’s onesie about six months ago, and shortly afterwards by a father whose child had a similar reaction.  I began looking into the subject of the “tagless” garments then.  Over the last couple of months, I have been trying to set up some kind of claims process where anyone who could document that their child had been injured by a Carter’s product could make a claim and obtain compensation without a long drawn out process.  My efforts turned out to be unsuccessful.

I think Carter’s should be held accountable for these garments, and I don’t think a stuffed animal is sufficient.  I cannot say for sure that there is a problem with the Carter’s garments yet; what I can say is what you know, that many people are reporting this, and that my own client reports that her daughter’s reaction was sufficiently traumatic that she still can’t sleep on her back.

There is strength in numbers.  The more people who are willing to step forward and go after Carter’s, the stronger our hand.  I therefore invite you to join a lawsuit to get compensation, and to keep this from happening again.  If you are interested in discussing this, please contact me at .  You can learn more about me at http://www.millslawfirm.com. 

I know people are suspicious when they get solicitations from lawyers, and I can certainly understand that.  An email like this is not my standard operating procedure.  In this situation, however, I think that I can help everyone better if I can get more people to join up.  If this makes you uncomfortable, please accept my apologies.  I am hoping, however, that this matter is of sufficient interest and concern to you that you will contact me, and we will see what we can do.

While I think I have made this abundantly clear, CA law requires me to say that this is a solicitation for legal business.

Update: On Tuesday, Nov 18th, 08 - I received my full retail refund via FedEx overnight, which also included a letter that said the following:

Dear Lisa,

Carter’s is very concerned about the problem you have experienced with your child’s garments.  Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention.  We are very concerned about any child that may have had a reaction.

Our investigation and testing has provided no indication that the labels contain any known skin irritants, but we are continuing to investigate.  Enclosed, please find a reimbursement check for the garments you have returned to us.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to call me in the Consumer Affairs Department at 1-888-782-9548.  I hope that our actions have helped to reconfirm your faith in Carter’s.

Sincerely,
(Left her name out)

I’m very happy with my full retail refund that I received from Carter’s, but their garments must have caused my at the time 3 month old-5 month old son to break out in a very bad rash on his back/neck even though their investigation and testing concluded that “there were no indication that the labels contain any known skin irritants” in their garments even though I feel that it does contain some kind of irritants obviously since Carter’s caused so many babies to suffer so much when Carter’s could have prevented this. 

I don’t understand why they can’t recall their defected garments (solid tagless from their Fall 2007 line).  My son and I had visited Babies R Us in Redwood City, CA few days ago only to find out that this retailer is still selling the defected garments.  I know other retailers around the Bay Area, CA is still selling them too.  After returning all 79 garments back to Carter’s (his whole wardrobe) and replaced them with Old Navy’s both tags and tagless my now 6 month old son’s back/neck is almost completely healed finally.  I’m just disgusted the fact that Carter’s is still selling their defected garments and there are still a few people out there that don’t know about this when discussed about this problem.

I just found out this 2 days ago… I’m sad that I didn’t find out about this before. My 5mths old daughter is having this issue too with her onesies.. I’m now on the phone and Holding for 25min and no answer.. this sucks
My baby had it really bad at first it was just rash around neck area, didn’t think much of it. but 2 days ago I had her wearing the long sleeve white bodysuits and thats when It really worsen. She was very fuzzy the whole day and she’s usually a good baby till it came to the night when she was tilting her head back like something was bothering her.. thats when I notice the yellow stain bodysuit around neck area.. And I was shock to see her skin was off.. blister burst. OMG she wouldn’t stop crying.. I hope they really do a recall on these garments. is not fair for the babys’ and ourselves to suffer this way..