A STAR Wars fancy-dress outfit for kids in the character of an “Execution Trooper” has been withdrawn from sale amid fears the material may go up in flames.
The warning was issued in Austria but online retail giant eBay has confirmed that the item was sold on its UK platform.
Official Star Wars Costumes.com
In its alert, the European Commission has warned that tots “could suffer burns” if the “easily flammable” costume catches fire while being worn.
The Commission adds that outfit’s “flame propagation” – the ease and quickness with which it could catch alight – is “too high”.
It says the dress-up outfit, which was made in China, fails to meet the EU’s “Toy Safety Directive”.
The affected batch has the following code: 8 83028 23993, and the lot number: No 7045.
eBay says it’s removed all listings from sale and told third-party sellers to offer a full refund to customers who’ve bought it.
A spokesperson for eBay said: “The safety of our customers is paramount and we do not tolerate the listing of non-compliant items by sellers.
“Our specialist teams work with regulators and Trading Standards to ensure our block filters stay up to date, using sophisticated software that monitors billions of listings a day to remove any prohibited items.”
UK retailer PartyDelights.co.uk says it has removed the same costume – but with a different batch code – from sale as a precaution, and adds that it will offer customers a full refund of the £30.99 paid.
A spokesperson said: “As a result of the safety test undertaken by the Austrian authorities, the costume’s manufacturer, has actioned a voluntary withdrawal of a single batch number from the market.
“The stock held by Party Delights does not fall within this batch, however as a precaution we have removed the product from sale and will offer a full refund to any of our customers who have bought this product.”
Star Wars is owned by Disney but it’s thought this particular outfit was made by a third party manufacturer. Disney failed to respond by our deadline.
Back in October, we revealed how kids’ Halloween costumes that catch fire in TWO seconds are still on sale in supermarkets and high street stores.
But the outfit isn’t the only children’s toy to be withdrawn. Amazon recently pulled its Crazy Geezers Putty World toy from sale over fears it is dangerous for kids.
While Smyths recalled its mini cupcake surprise toys.
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