Bed, Bath & Beyond sentenced for selling over 27,000 products without appropriate safety information

National homeware retailer Bed, Bath and Beyond has been fined more than $200,000 for selling a “record number of unsafe products”.

From March to October 2023, Bed, Bath and Beyond sold 27,374 products that did not include the safety information, as required by law.

Products included at least 3753 children’s pyjama sets that did not have fire hazard information in the required visible spot or in the online descriptions, and 23,801 hot water bottles that did not provide instructions about safe use and storage.

“Businesses must ensure the products they supply comply with legal requirements and are safe for the intended user — especially requirements about fire safety and burns, which help keep consumers safe,” Commerce Commission general manager of competition, fair trading and credit Vanessa Horne said.

“It was important for us to take this case as this is the largest number of items that didn’t comply with product safety requirements the commission has seen.

“The failures in this case increased the risk of harm for the over 27,000 consumers who purchased these products.

“The required fire hazard labels and hot water bottle instructions are there to inform consumers about the risks of products so they can keep themselves and their families safe. It’s vital businesses have rigorous compliance processes to ensure they follow all labelling obligations,” Horne said.

Bed, Bath and Beyond was sentenced in the Auckland District Court and fined $230,000 for five breaches of the Fair Trading Act related to the sale of non-compliant children’s pyjamas and hot water bottles.

During sentencing, Judge Stephen Bonnar, KC, said, “By virtue of the number of non-compliant goods supplied by Bed, Bath and Beyond on a nationwide basis, and having regard to the duration of the offending, the offending must be considered as serious offending”.

Children’s pyjamas require permanent warning labels in specific locations — at the top of the garment and in online descriptions — to outline the level of potential fire risk.

Bed, Bath and Beyond general manager Guy Hunt said it acknowledges the recent prosecution and fine “brought by the Commerce Commission regarding the provision of product safety information on a small number of our product lines in 2023″.

“While we were disappointed to face these charges, we accept responsibility for the isolated oversights related to the placement and completeness of safety warnings on these products. It is important to note that no products were found to have any physical faults or safety concerns beyond the issues with the warning labels,” Hunt said.

“We want to assure our customers that the safety and satisfaction of those who purchase our products remain our top priorities. We are committed to taking proactive steps to seek to ensure such oversights do not happen again, and have already proactively undertaken a review of our processes and enhanced our compliance steps for all labelling requirements.

“Bed Bath & Beyond values the trust our customers place in us, and we will continue working diligently to uphold the highest standards across all areas of our business.”

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.

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