Failed Product Review for Cheap Organic Toddler Pillows
From the very beginning of KidBean.com in 1999, I have always intensively researched each and every product we sell. Over the years I have refined my review process and made it more efficient. Additionally, the explosive growth in the “green” products industry has made my research easier, as more manufacturers are now aware of and forthcoming with information about product ingredients, certifications, recyclability, and end-of-life disposal. Still it takes many hours to review a single product.
While it is certainly time-consuming, I wouldn’t short-cut this process because it ensures each and every product we offer meets our standards for fair labor, sustainability, safety, and quality. Because we have insisted always on completing a comprehensive and full review before carrying a product, we can say with pride that we have never had to remove a product from our store in response to customer concerns/complaints about safety, quality, etc. OR because we later found out it wasn’t what it was marketed to be (i.e. greenwashing) OR because it was recalled. Products only get removed if they are discontinued, sold out, or don’t sell well; or if a greener version becomes available. Some products never make it into our store at all.
Some of our best-selling products are our organic toddler pillows. Concerned parents seeking safer, greener alternatives to conventional pillows that are often made from synthetic materials (such as polyester and polyurethane foam) and treated with flame retardants (like PBDE’s) can appreciate that ours are:
- 100% flame retardant free
- 100% chemical free
- made with all-natural materials (such as organic cotton, kapok, organic buckwheat hulls, and natural latex rubber)
Even though these pillows are some of our best-sellers, and I’m otherwise pleased with all of the toddler pillows we sell, I’m still always on the lookout for something even better. In this case, that means something cheaper. I know my own family’s finances have been strained in this economy over the last couple of years and I regularly hear from my customers that they need to cut costs and work with a smaller budget, too.
In my research I recently found a company that seemed promising. My initial review was a breeze, as their website answered all my preliminary questions. It was a small company that manufactured their products exclusively in the USA from all-natural and certified organic materials. Their pillows were 100% chemical-free and all of their components (organic cotton, buckwheat, and kapok) were sourced in the USA as well. And, their prices were significantly cheaper than the toddler pillows I currently sell. It was all going so well that I was suspicious… I wondered whether the quality could possibly be high enough with prices that low. With children’s products, an inconsistency in quality can often mean an inconsistency in safety.
I spoke with one of the owners to set up a wholesale account and order some samples to review. I was frank with my concerns about the quality of their products and she reassured me that their pillows were some of their best-sellers and that they had been making them for many years. A few days later when I opened the box and inspected the sample pillows, however, my concerns were validated.
First, one of the pillows had a gap over 1 inch wide where the seam had not been finished. I could see right through this hole to the organic cotton filling inside. Second, the seam on the sample pillowcase was poorly sewn. It was finished completely, but I wondered whether it would hold up well to repeat cycles through a washer and dryer–and it certainly didn’t look very pretty. I compared this pillowcase to one of the Cotton Monkey ones that I currently sell and the difference was stark–the Cotton Monkey one was clean, professional and aesthetically-pleasing while the sample had none of those qualities. Third, the tags did not specify that the materials (pillow casings and fills) were organic. I know the federal label laws are quite specific about the format of these labels and about which terms may be used in certain areas of the labels, but if the materials are organic then the label needs to state this (in a legally appropriate position, of course) OR a second label needs to be used. Otherwise how is the consumer to trust that the materials are, in fact, organic? Sure, the manufacturer could show you copies of their organic certifications, but the labels still need to be accurate.
In light of my initial openness with the owner about my quality concerns, the fact that I received samples that were anything less than extraordinary was unacceptable. I certainly couldn’t trust the quality of anything they might send directly to my customers, and I anticipated ongoing quality issues that would waste both time and money. I failed the toddler pillows and pillowcases and sent them all back to the manufacturer. I am admittedly disappointed, as I had hoped to be able to offer my customers a more economical option for their toddler’s first pillow. The pillows and pillowcase were labor-friendly, earth-friendly, and vegan; but they still failed our standards for quality & safety so they have been added to our “Why Don’t We Carry…?” directory of products/companies that have failed our review process.
I hope when you are comparison shopping online for your toddler’s first pillow that you look beyond the sticker price. The old adage “you get what you pay for” certainly applies here, especially if you consider the true cost of the pillow. If you are shopping for an organic toddler pillow and need help deciding which fill material you should choose, or if you have questions about caring for your child’s pillow, please check out our Organic Toddler Pillow Buyer’s Guide.
