November 22, 2022:
As a team of fellow mothers, we are deeply saddened to hear of the two incidents mentioned in the CPSC press release. No parent should ever have to go through what they experienced.
Since day one, my mission for Otteroo has been to bring joy and a love of water to as many babies as possible. We’ve sold over 400,000 Otteroos, and they have been used safely millions of times. I’m enormously proud of what we’ve built, and I’m so grateful that parents and families have discovered so much joy from Otteroo.
Looking at the CPSC release, we understand their concern that parents will ignore the warnings and leave their infants unattended in the water, exposing them to the risk of drowning if Otteroo happens to deflate (because all inflatables carry the inherent risk of deflation).
However, we still stand behind the extensive steps we have taken to ensure parents understand the drowning risk anytime a baby is in the water, and the inherent risk of deflation for any inflatable.
As a company that has always put the safety and joy of babies first, we do many things to ensure that each Otteroo session is a positive experience.
We ask parents to acknowledge, during the purchasing process, that they must always be with their infants when using Otteroo, and to check for leaks and fit prior to each use. This message is repeated several times in the emails that get sent out after the purchase, as well as on the instructional pamphlet and float itself.
We believe the CPSC is wrong – when used with proper care and attention, Otteroo is perfectly safe, and it is well-understood that infants should not be left unattended when in or near water (Otteroo or not).
We intend to show the CPSC just how much parents and families love Otteroo. Years ago, the CPSC tried to get baby-sling manufacturers to recall their products. But after realizing that it was a product parents were not giving up, the CPSC changed its mind and instead helped the industry strengthen its safety messaging. We want to convince the CPSC to do the same for the baby neck float category. We believe that instead of shutting down responsible US-based companies, while allowing unregulated, overseas products to flourish, they should be educating parents on bath and water safety and setting new standards for the neck float category.
You can see our full response to the CPSC’s statement here. I want to emphasize that we are doing everything in our power to have a dialogue with CPSC so we can address their concerns, which they have refused thus far.
One reason we feel so strongly is that we know how much Otteroo is beloved. Many of our customers are parents to little ones with special needs, and they truly depend on Otteroo; and for countless other families, Otteroo time is a magical part of their day.
There is a really long road ahead of us, but we feel encouraged by and grateful for your support. If you feel Otteroo has brought smiles and joy to you and your baby’s life, we would love your advocacy! Please reach out to us and we will share more on our plan.
Warmly,
Tiffany + Otteroo Team