New testing from Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group has found that nearly 70 per cent of portable cots fail to meet key safety standards.
Choice experts reviewed 26 portable cots for sale and found 18 of them failed its testing, mainly due to soft or poorly fitting mattresses.
These factors are known to heighten the risk of sudden infant deaths.
Choice testing expert Kim Gilmour said a cot’s brand or price was not always an indication of its safety or quality, with leading department stores like Kmart and Target failing.
“The failure rate that we’ve seen in our latest round of portable cot testing is really concerning. We know that parents expect better from brands that are sold by popular retailers like Target and Baby Bunting,” she said.
18 cots that failed Choice’s testing:
- Aeromoov Instant Travel Cot ($399)
- Baby Bunting 4Baby Liteway Travel Cot EA11816 ($149)
- Baby Bunting 4Baby Clouds 2 in 1 Portacot EA12117 ($99)
- Baby Bunting 4Baby Vacation Portacot EA12116 ($49)
- Babyhood Uno 2 in 1 Portacot ($449)
- Chicco Lullaby Easy Portacot ($500)
- Childcare Matisse 4 in 1 Travel Cot ($180)
- Joie Excursion Change & Rock Travel Cot ($329)
- Kmart Anko Travel Portacot 42-001-409 ($49)
- Kmart Anko 3 in 1 Portacot 42723370 ($95)
- Love N Care Playland Travel Cot ($150)
- Phil & Teds Traveller 2021 TR-V5-5/100 ($450)
- Star Kidz Amico Super Light Travel Cot ($249)
- Star Kidz Vivo Super Light Travel Cot ($399)
- Target Adventure V2 3 in 1 Portacot BRT022A1 ($99)
- Target Holiday Portacot BRT023A ($55)
- Vee Bee Amado Travel & Play Cot N9560 ($199)
- Vee Bee The Sierra N9338 ($239).
Choice tests portable cots at an in-house lab and examines factors like sturdiness, entrapment hazards, strangulation hazards and strength.
The expert rating it gives is based 70 per cent on performance and 30 per cent on ease of use.
Ms Gilmour said it was concerning that the safety issues they found could result in fatal consequences.
“The most common safety issue we saw in our testing was a mattress that isn‘t firm enough, which is a factor linked to sudden unexpected death in infancy,” she said.
Choice has subsequently called on the Australian government to immediately strengthen its product safety laws, rather than waiting for a serious injury or accident to happen.
“Newer voluntary standards incorporate important safety factors like breathable zones, but they still haven‘t made it into law. While it’s pleasing to see more manufacturers meeting them, it’s still not mandatory to do so,” Ms Gilmour said.
“These safety failures are part of a broader problem around product safety protections. Governments often wait until tragedy strikes before they make safety standards mandatory. This reactive approach puts consumers at risk and is deeply inappropriate for products like portable cots.”
A Kmart Group spokesperson said they disagreed and disputed Choice’s findings in regards to Target and Kmart cots.
“We disagree with Choice claims concerning mattress firmness on the Kmart and Target portacot’s particularly, as both brands have tested this product to these same standards in an independent accredited laboratory and the results showed full compliance,” they said.
“We disputed Choice’s findings over a month ago and questioned testing methods because Choice do not use an accredited laboratory to test portacots and did not hear a fulsome response – our Kmart and Target Portacot’s have been tested by an independent accredited laboratory and fully complied to the same mandatory and voluntary standards that Choice is referencing.”
A Nanny Annie spokesperson said their Star Kidz cots also complied with Australian safety standards.
“We disagree with the findings by Choice. Our Star Kidz Vivo super light travel cots are produced in compliance with both mandatory and voluntary Australian safety standards,” they said.
“We have the product tested independently by Intertek and passed all the components of the same tests conducted by Choice.”
Baby Bunting also said their products had been tested by an accredited lab and was confident they complied with requirements.
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