Flammable Sweatshirts Recalled

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Apr.17)-- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the SAN FRANCISCO SHIRT WORKS, INC., announced today that the San Francisco Shirt Works is voluntarily recalling and refunding the purchase price on four styles of ladies' sweatshirts because they fail to comply with Federal flammability standard. If exposed to an ignition source such as a cigarette ash, an open flame, or any spark, they could ignite and burn with a rapid and intense flame. (No injuries have been reported to date.)

These sweatshirts were sold by department stores and specialty shops throughout the nation as part of the company's 1977 holiday line.

Some 22,500 of these ladies' sweatshirts were imported by San Francisco shirt Works, Inc., from a Hong Kong manufacturer and distributed nationwide to retailers during October and early November 1977. Shirts which appear to be identical but which were delivered to retailers in approximately July of 1977 have passed the flammability test required by the standard. Only those shirts sold to retailers during and after October 1977 fail to comply with the standard.

All the ladder's shirts are 100% cotton, fleecy side out, with long sleeves. Sewn-in labels at the back of the neck say "SAN FRANCISCO TEA PARTY: with a cablecar woven in the label. The identifying labels also say "Made in Hong Kong". These sweatshirts were available in winter white, pink, yellow, peach, blue, and chamois.

The following styles of "soft to touch" sweatshirts fail to comply with the Federal Standard for Flammability of Clothing Textiles:

2115--Regular collar, patch on sleeve and pockets of same color, snap fasteners, and pull string tie at waits;
2116--Pullover, with small center pockets for hands;
2184--Hooded, with pull string tie on neck and wait-front snaps, one pocket;
2185--Zippered front, regular collar, two front pockets.

Style numbers appeared on "hang tags" at the time of sale and would have been removed before wearing.

The company will refund to consumers the purchase price of suspect garments. Persons who believe they have these sweatshirts should write for refund procedures to:

Or they may call CPSC's toll-free Hotline (800)638-2772 for refund instructions.

CPSC strongly urges consumers who bought any of the described shirts during and after October 1977 to immediately stop wearing them and start the refund process. CPSC believes that spring weather will increase the burn danger because of camping, barbeques and other outdoor activities and hopes women will take the initiative to return the potentially hazardous sweatshirts.

This is the first time the company's products have been the source of such hazards. the company has been taken steps to avoid similar safety problems in the future by testing for flammability safety all fabrics to be used prior to each production order. Additionally, the firm has permanently dropped the suspect fabric from its line of products and will not reorder the same fabrication from the manufacturer.

The firm had changed Hong Kong manufacturers for the subject holiday line, and did not know the fabrics obtained from the source had not been tested for flammability compliance, which had been a standard procedure with its previous imports. Their new procedures should eliminate this possibility.