Amazon, Target, and Others Pull Weighted Baby Sleep Blankets From Shelves

Retailers including Amazon, Target, and Babylist have decided to prohibit the sale of weighted baby blankets, sleep sacks, and swaddles. The companies have decided to stop selling these products because of safety concerns, according to a new report from Consumer Reports. 

These weighted products usually have small plastic beads sewn into them, which add pressure against the body to help people rest and stay calm. However, per Consumer Reports, “Medical and CR product safety experts have raised concerns that even gentle pressure from these products can obstruct babies’ breathing and heart rates.” Weighted products might also make it harder for babies to “get themselves out of unsafe sleeping positions, posing the risk of suffocation.”

According to a press release, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation into advertising practices regarding two weighted sleep sack and swaddle manufacturers: Dreamland Baby and Nested Bean.

This letter follows Blumenthal’s claims about “the companies’ continued refusal to address their broad, unverified safety claims about their products.” Many child safety experts also oppose the blankets.

Retailers including Amazon, Target, and Babylist, have decided to stop selling weighted baby blankets, sleep sacks, and swaddles because of safety concerns, according to a new CR report. See more in @parents: https://t.co/3kumIU0gRo

— Consumer Reports (@ConsumerReports) April 30, 2024

Blumenthal addressed his concerns to Dreamland Baby founder and CEO Tara Williams and Nested Bean founder and president Mansi Gangan in 2023. He believes their safety claims are questionable after the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) advised parents against using weighted infant sleep products.

The senator stated that neither company has responded to his inquiries. He also asks them to make safety updates to their websites that provide clear and transparent information to consumers.

Blumenthal wrote in his letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, “I ask that the Commission investigate these companies to determine whether any unlawful, unfair, or deceptive advertising practices are taking place and potentially harming millions of families.” 

He added, “The stakes are simply too high to allow weighted infant sleep products to be advertised as ‘safe.’ Especially without a clear disclaimer explaining the lack of an agreed-upon standard for determining safety.”

He also explained that a 2022 recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that weighted swaddles, clothing, or objects on or near the baby are unsafe and not recommended. He believes that parents and caretakers of newborns are “notoriously hard pressed for rest” due to infants’ intermittent sleep patterns.

Therefore, they are susceptible to claims or implications that a company might make about a product that helps a newborn (and its parents) get better sleep. Blumenthal believes any marketing around such a product for newborns must be held to fair and transparent advertising standards.

There are no issues with standard sleep sacks that do not contain weighted material.