Little Rock, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pulled sets of baby bibs Wednesday from its stores nationwide after the bibs tested positive for high levels of lead, a store official said.
The bibs, sold under the Baby Connection brand name, came in packs of two to seven bibs, with embroidered prints or images of Sesame Street characters. Some were sold as long ago as 2004.
The bibs were made by Hamco Inc. exclusively for the Bentonville-based retailer.
Mia Masten, a Chicago-based spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the vinyl portion of the bibs exceeded the lead levels set by Illinois for children’s products. She said the company had worked with the Illinois attorney general’s office to pull the items and later decided to expand the recall nationwide.
Masten said about 60,000 of the bib bundles were sold in Illinois without any reported injuries.
“We at Wal-Mart are committed to working … to develop industry standards for the elimination of vinyl in children’s products,” Masten said.
