The Wiggles company has admitted it probably breached consumer law by selling light-up headbands to fans that failed to carry mandatory warning labels they contained batteries which pose a safety risk to children.
The children’s entertainment group sold 3164 of its yellow-and-black Emma Bow headbands, featuring four lights powered by potentially hazardous button batteries, at concerts, in stores and online between June 2022 and March 2024.
Former Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins.
The batteries are small flat discs that have a history of causing death and serious injury in children who unwittingly swallow them. They can burn through the oesophagus within hours of being ingested.
While products containing button batteries can be sold, there are strict information standards requiring labelling to warn parents of the potential danger.
On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – which had been investigating the company – issued a statement saying that The Wiggles Holdings (the group’s company) had provided it with a court-enforceable undertaking admitting to probably breaching the law in selling the headbands.
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The company sold the Emma Bow headband between November 2015 and March 2024, but its alleged breach of consumer law only occurred from June 2022, when button battery information standards came into force. All headbands sold since 2015 were recalled in August 2024.
The Wiggles company has now vowed to implement a compliance program. This includes committing to produce an episode of its Wiggle Talk – A Podcast For Parents within the next six months to help raise awareness of the safety issue by discussing the product recall and the potential hazards surrounding button batteries and children’s toys.
Toy company CA Australia, which imported and distributed at least 3764 of the non-compliant headbands, has also promised to improve its consumer law compliance.
