Kozar said some of the chemicals used to soften the plastic of some teethers has been found to be toxic and harmful to children. One area not under the close scrutiny by consumer groups is the flammability of children's things including play tents, sleeping bags and other cloth materials. According to Jane Francis, a product safety commission spokesperson, manufacturers of such items follow voluntary industry standards monitored by the Industrial Fabrics Association and the American Society for Testing and Materials. She said fabrics and materials in children's things are tested to see how long they will burn and if they do not meet certain criteria they are recalled. She added that some items contain flammability warnings simply as an added precaution and a reminder to parents that fabrics burn.
All fabric is flammable.
It all burns, but some is more volatile. She also said voluntary standards are used because they are quicker and easier to apply then federally-mandated regulations. Very few incidents are reported to be caused by flammable children's products, Francis said. She urged parents not to ignore warning labels, but said they could assume what they see is safe. According to Kozar the majority of complaints his group hears about revolve around children choking on toy parts.