Winter Dressing Gowns for Children

Gone are the days when children’s dressing gowns were 100% wool.

Common robes are now made of the everyday synthetic polyester fleece, which raises the issue of flammability.

While polyester is less flammable than cotton or rayon, the fibres will melt and stick to skin once alight.

Kidsafe says “no nightwear is 100% fireproof”. If a child wears non-compliant nightwear they are at a higher risk of severe burns and death if the nightwear catches fire.

Consumer Protection (Children’s Nightwear and limited daywear and Paper Patterns for Children’s Nightwear) Safety Standard 2017 law became mandatory in January 2020. The standard applies to nightwear (and some daywear) from children’s clothing sizes 00 to 14.

The law states clothing must carry fire warning labelling according to its category.

Items in Categories 1 -3 must carry a low fire hazard label and those in category 4 must carry a high fire hazard warning.

Kidsafe asks people to: “avoid buying or using children's nightgowns made from 100% chenille or 100% cotton flannelette as these materials are highly flammable.”

• Topics:

• Living and Lifestyle