Why not intended for children sleepwear

It took me nine months to cave on my "no holiday clothes" policy for baby. I hated the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day, St. But then came Halloween. There were mummy sweats, socks with skeletons and bats, pumpkin-covered everything, and adorable ghost pajamas. I caved. When the Gap package arrived one week later, I rationalized keeping each festive item, even though I really only needed one. But then, hanging off the left arm of the spooky ghost T-shirt, there was a bright yellow tag: "For child's safety, garment should fit snugly.

This garment is not flame resistant. Loose-fitting garment is more likely to catch fire. I had spent a good portion of the previous nine months worried about so many terrible ways my son could be killed or injured, but I'd never once thought "pajama fire.

I called my mom. My mother is a fire safety guru. My childhood was punctuated by multiple memorable fire drills. One day a construction paper fire appeared on the back of the couch, because, as mom said, sometimes fire is quiet. I've carried fire safety lessons into my adult homes, checking the smoke detectors every time we spring forward or fall back. When a pan of brussels sprouts in bacon fat kept tripping the alarm last week, I had my son practice getting to the door. Even in my fire-conscious home, flame-retardant pajamas had never once come up.

So I assumed my mom would reassure me that ill-fitting or flammable jammies were yet another of the ridiculous precautions taken by modern parents. But after I hung up, I returned the pajamas. It turned out my mom did know about pajama fires, including images of ignited sleepwear burned into her memory.

I resolved to buy flame-resistant pajamas from then on. So I decided to learn why exactly children's pajamas are so dangerous. That label on the Gap pajamas? Even though these types of garments are exempt from the requirements of this rule, they must still meet the flammability requirements for clothing textiles, 16C.

Because of the detail in the regulation, we have only provided a general overview of the sampling and testing requirements. For more detailed information about the test equipment and procedure, sampling garments or fabric, selecting specimens, and other requirements, please refer to the regulation or contact the Office of Compliance. Each specimen is tested separately. Place each specimen in a metal holder and suspend each holder vertically in the test cabinet.

Apply the gas flame to the bottom edge of the specimen for 3 seconds. Measure the char length of each specimen. Testing for flammability involves selecting and testing a specified number of samples of three different items — fabric, prototype seams and trim, and production garment seams. Fabric or garments must be tested as produced or after one laundering and after 50 launderings. Depending on the results of testing, an item may be accepted, rejected, or require additional sampling and testing.

In general, a sample of five specimens cannot have an average char length greater than 7. Fabric : Finished fabric that is ready to be made into sleepwear must be grouped into Fabric Production Units FPUs and tested before you use the fabric to make prototype garments. An FPU may be up to 5, linear yards of the fabric. You may include different colors or print patterns of the same fabric in the same FPU if they exhibit similar burn characteristics.

The FPU is accepted or rejected based upon the fabric sampling plan criteria. Garment prototypes : Before you actually produce garments that will be sold, you must test prototypes of each garment design characteristic. This testing helps to ensure that you have designed a garment that will comply with the standards when it is mass-produced. Seam types and trim that will actually be used in the garments must be tested. These sleepwear items typically include nylon and acetate fabrics.

Which basically means the manufacturer can state the garment was not chemically treated. Tight-fitting pajamas made of natural fibers, such as cotton, typically do not contain fire resistant chemicals.

The reason they are considered safe is because they are less likely to brush over an open flame. In addition, because they are tight to the body, a fire would have less oxygen fire needs oxygen to burn. One thing to be mindful of when looking for natural fiber sleepwear is a tag that indicates that the garment was made with flame-resistant cotton.

All sleepwear is required to have a tag and permanent label indicating it's either flame-resistant or that the garment is not flame resistant, but should be tight-fitting. Look carefully for these labels and only allow your children to sleep in safe pajamas. Additionally, be aware that sleepwear that has been washed multiple times may not have their flame resistant properties and may not be tight-fitting.