Mothercare fined $4,000 after not honouring settlement: clothing did not meet fire safety and care labelling standards
Published11 Nov 1999
The Auckland District Court yesterday fined Greenbark Enterprises Limited, which trades as Mothercare New Zealand, $4,000 plus $550 costs for selling children's night clothes that did not meet the fire safety standard and other clothing that did not meet the care labelling standard.
The Commerce Commission prosecuted Mothercare for breaching the Fair Trading Act.
Commission Chairman John Belgrave said that a Commission check in May showed that Mothercare was not complying with a Commission settlement it had entered into in December last year.
"There is a message here for all businesses," Mr Belgrave said. "Look on settlements as advice about how to comply with the law, and take that advice.
"The Commission follows-up all its settlements. If one is not honoured, then we will consider court action."
In November last year the Commission investigated a complaint that Mothercare was selling dressing gowns that did not meet the mandatory fire safety standard for children's night clothes.
The Commission concluded that the dressing gowns were made from flammable fabric, were loose fitting, did not meet the standard and should not have been on sale. It gave Mothercare information about the standard and the Act.
In December Mothercare entered into a settlement with the Commission and gave undertakings that it would withdraw the dressing gowns, ensure that all children's night clothes were correctly labelled and introduce a Fair Trading Act compliance programme by February 26.
On May 11 Commission staff visited a Mothercare store and found children's night clothes labelled in ways that did not meet the fire safety standard and other clothes that did not meet the care labelling standard. Unlike the earlier dressing gowns, which should not have been on sale at all, the night clothes found on May 11 would have met the standard if they were correctly labelled.
Commission staff then spoke to Mothercare's managing director. She said that she was unaware of details of the fire safety standard, that she had instructed her staff to check for fire labels but had not advised them what were the correct labels and had taken no steps at all to ensure care labelling was correct.
"With Mothercare being so careless in its response to a settlement and advice from the Commission, prosecution followed," Mr Belgrave said.
Media contact: Acting Fair Trading Manager Ross McPherson
