By James Taylor
Photo: Nikos Pekiaridis / NurPhoto via AFP
A Queensland girl has sustained significant burns after wind blew sparks onto a jumper purchased from Temu, which ignited "in a split second".
Temu recalled the jumper for failing to meet mandatory safety standards.
CHOICE is calling for more proactive protections for Australian consumers, in line with international legislation.
When Daniella Jacobs-Herd turned eight, a long fluffy glow-in-the-dark unicorn hoodie was the perfect birthday present from her grandmother.
Daniella was still wearing her favourite Temu-purchased jumper at her mother Hannah's birthday party six months later, in July 2024.
"I'd been trying to get it off her because she was getting a bit big for it, but she wore it religiously because she loved it," Jacobs-Herd said.
"It was above her knees when the incident happened."
On a chilly evening in the family's backyard in Hervey Bay, three-and-a-half hours north of Brisbane, a gust of wind blew sparks onto Daniella's jumper as she stood near a fire pit.
It ignited "in a split second".
Medical staff at Brisbane's Queensland Children's Hospital told Jacobs-Herd her daughter had severe burns to 13 percent of her body, including her face, right arm and the right side of her chest.
The incident laid bare the risks of using one of Australia's most popular online shopping platforms, and what consumer advocates say is the reactive nature of current laws to protect Australian consumers' safety.
Failing to meet standards
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found the jumper was incompliant with the mandatory standards governing the safety of children's nightwear because it failed to include a fire warning label.
In Australia, all children's nightwear and some daywear must undergo fabric testing and display the appropriate fire label.
Some garments are so flammable they don't meet any of the four fire hazard rating categories, and therefore cannot be sold.
Jacobs-Herd said it was "scary" to learn her mother-in-law unwittingly bought a product not compliant with Australian safety standards.
"Does a kid have to be burned by a product … for them to recall the products and investigate [them]?" she asked.
"They should be … checking them out before they put them on the shelves."
Temu recall
More than four months after Daniella was burned, Temu - a third-party online shopping platform - issued a voluntary recall notice for the jumper in consultation with the ACCC.
The ACCC notice warned there was a risk of serious burn injuries if the jumper was exposed to a heat or flame source, and said consumers should stop using the product immediately.
The trauma of the incident meant it took Daniella months before she was able to go into her own bedroom again.
"It happened on the grass outside her windows, and she didn't want to be alone when she has the nightmares," her mother said.
"She can't even watch a candle be lit now on her birthday cake; she screams. Fire scares her."
The young girl spent eight weeks in hospital in Brisbane undergoing skin graft operations.
She faces another decade of skin grafts as her body grows.
Jacobs-Herd said negotiations with Temu over prospective compensation had broken down and she had engaged legal representation to investigate a compensation claim.
A spokesperson for Temu said the company was facilitating communications between the family and the Chinese manufacturer that sold the jumper through its online platform.
Consumer risk
The family's solicitor, Taylor Hamilton from Shine Lawyers, said the full extent of Daniella's injuries and their impact on her growth and development may not be known for "an extensive period of time".
Ms Hamilton said the "horrific" case was a reminder to consumers about the risks of buying products made overseas through foreign shopping platforms.
"It's important for purchasers to be aware that when they are purchasing products overseas, manufacturers don't have the same strict regulations and standards that we have here in Australia," she said.
The ACCC said Australian consumer legislation did not contain a "direct prohibition on the supply of unsafe products".
An ACCC spokesperson declined to comment on the Temu jumper recall, but said online platforms had "a role to play" in protecting consumers from unsafe products.
The spokesperson said platforms could demonstrate their commitment to safety by joining its Australian Product Safety Pledge, a voluntary agreement to uphold product safety responsibilities.
Temu has not signed up, but its spokesperson said the company was in discussions with the ACCC about it.
Push for legislated safety requirements
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE launched a petition late last year calling for Temu to sign up to the pledge, following its investigation into toys sold by Temu with allegedly unsafe battery compartments.
CHOICE spokesperson Andy Kelly said the commitments were basic consumer expectations that all platforms should be legally bound to meet, regardless of whether they were a signatory or not.
"It's another voluntary mechanism relying on businesses to do the right thing," Kelly said.
"The law should be strong enough so that a voluntary pledge isn't necessary; but until that's the case, Temu should sign up."
Since 2005 CHOICE has been calling for the introduction of a general safety provision (GSP), which would legislate a requirement for suppliers to ensure their products were safe before they could be sold to consumers.
"Unfortunately, Australia's product safety regime is reactive and it can take someone being seriously injured or killed for a product to be recalled," Kelly said.
"The current reactive, largely voluntary, approach to product safety is clearly not working."
A 2017 review of Australian consumer law also recommended the introduction of a GSP, saying it would match other OECD countries, including the UK and Canada, which had responded to the proliferation of online shopping platforms.
In December, federal Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones met state consumer affairs ministers, who agreed to prioritise "strengthening Australia's product safety framework to improve consumer safety".
A spokesperson for Jones did not respond to the ABC's questions about whether a general safety provision was discussed.
"Australian shoppers expect products are safe, including when shopping online," the spokesperson said.
"The government is committed to strong consumer protections to keep Australians safe and ensuring businesses are accountable under Australian law."
But Shadow Assistant Treasurer Luke Howarth said Australia already had strong consumer protections in place, and called on the ACCC to be more rigorous in enforcing existing laws.
"With the influx of products from new foreign suppliers like Temu, it is incumbent on the regulator, the ACCC, and the current government to take enforcement action when there is non-compliance and ensure the existing mandatory safety standard remains up to date," Howarth said.
-This story was originally published by ABC News.
