116 W. Illinois Street, Suite 5E Chicago, IL 60654 312-595-0649 Phone 312-595-0939 Fax www.KidsInDanger.org [email protected]Toxic Toys and Faulty Cribs An examination of children’s product recalls in 2008, recall effectiveness at CPSC and the implications for child safety Report by: Kids In Danger April 21, 2009
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116 W. Illinois Street, Suite 5E Chicago, IL 60654 312-595-0649 Phone 312-595-0939 Fax www.KidsInDanger.org [email protected]
Toxic Toys and Faulty Cribs
An examination of children’s product recalls in 2008, recall effectiveness at CPSC and
the implications for child safety
Report by:
Kids In Danger April 21, 2009
2008: Toxic Toys and Faulty Cribs Page 1
Executive Summary Since early 2002 when Kids In Danger (KID) released our first report looking at recalls from 2001, KID has been reporting on children’s product recalls each year. This year’s also took a closer look at what happens after the recall: how many of the dangerous products are accounted for and removed from use? While the flood of children’s product recalls in 2007, many for lead and magnet ingestion hazards, led to unprecedented attention from Congress and the public, many people aren’t aware that the recalls kept coming throughout 2008. Other findings in this report include:
• Forty-eight percent (190) of the products recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were children’s products.
• Toys were the largest category of recalled children’s products – 41%. • Despite the scrutiny on lead in 2007, 36% of the recalls were for lead paint
hazards. • There were five recalls of over one million products with over 18 million units
recalled in total. • There were seven deaths in these products prior to recall. Most were in sleep
environments with one in a play soccer net. • Two-thirds of the recalled products were made in China, 4% were made here in
the United States. • Evenflo had the most injuries prior to a recall – 94 in their Majestic High Chair. • A record number, 12, cribs were recalled, involving eight injuries and five deaths. • While CPSC requires monthly updates on Corrective Action Plans as recalls are
called, our research showed that many companies simply don’t file the report or don’t fill in the requested information. For those that do, the numbers show that most recalled products remain in the hands of consumers.
KID recommends: • CPSC should immediately begin to plan and execute a database with product and injury data. • Congress should immediately fully fund CPSC. • Given the ineffective nature of CPSC’s current recall effectiveness reporting, Congress should call for annual reports on the year’s recall and their effectiveness. • CPSC should also require more effort from companies in the event of a recall to retrieve or fix the faulty products.
KID concludes these findings with suggestions for parents and caregivers including: checking www.cpsc.gov for recall reports, spreading the word to family and friends, and keeping updated with www.KidsInDanger.org. The full report is available for download at www.KidsInDanger.org or by calling KID at 312.595.0649.
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Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ............................................................... 3 2008: Recalls of children’s products continue .................................................................... 3 Toys lead children’s product recalls ................................................................................... 4 Largest recalls for lead poisoning, entrapment and magnet ingestion ................................ 5 Multiple recalls by eleven companies. ................................................................................ 6 Despite public attention, lead still leading hazard in recalls. .............................................. 6 Manufactured in….China mostly ........................................................................................ 7 1 report, 2 reports….1,140 reports before a recall .............................................................. 7 Hundreds of children injured while products remain in stores and homes. ........................ 7 Cribs recalled in record numbers ........................................................................................ 9 Civil Penalties or Actions by CPSC ................................................................................. 10 Recall Effectiveness: A bleak picture ............................................................................... 10 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 12 Action for Parents and Caregivers .................................................................................... 12 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 13 Definitions......................................................................................................................... 13 About Kids In Danger ....................................................................................................... 13
Tables Table 1: Children’s product recalls 2001-2008 .................................................................. 4 Table 2: 2008 Recalls by product type ............................................................................... 4 Table 3: Top ten children’s product recalls by unit in 2008 ............................................... 5 Table 4: Multiple recalls by manufacturer (2008) .............................................................. 6 Table 5: Children’s product recalls by hazard (2008) ........................................................ 6 Table 6: Children’s products with the most incidents reported before recall (2008) ......... 7 Table 7: Injuries prior to recall by product type ................................................................. 8 Table 8: Products involving the most injuries prior to recall .............................................. 8 Table 9: Products involving deaths prior to recall .............................................................. 9 Table 10: Sleep Environment Recalls (2008) ................................................................... 10 Table 11: Response to FOIA request for monthly corrective action reports .................... 11
Introduction Since our first report in 2002, Kids In Danger has been taking an annual look at children’s product recalls by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Each year our report consistently showed about two children’s products recalled each week by CPSC, and that most consumers were unaware of the scope of the problem. 2007 brought ‘the year of the recall’ and suddenly, not only did the rate of recalls increase (to more than four children’s products a week) but so did the public’s awareness. This year’s report includes the recall numbers from 2008, but also looks at a measure of recall effectiveness – do recalled products get removed from use? The report ends with recommendations for keeping children safe from dangerous products – those that have been recalled and those still in the market. All recall numbers in the report are from CPSC press releases of recalls.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Congress created the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972 under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), and CPSC began operating in 1973. In the Act, Congress directed CPSC to protect the public “against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products.” CPSC has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 types of consumer products, and is charged with protecting consumers from products that pose fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazards or can injure children. Nancy Nord is the current acting Chair of the CPSC with Thomas Moore as the only other commissioner. Since 2006, CPSC has been operating at this crippling level. In 2008, CPSC assumed extra duties as Congress passed, and the President signed, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). Once fully implemented, this landmark legislation will provide assurance to parents that children’s products will be tested for safety prior to sale and are free of known chemical or design hazards.
2008: Recalls of children’s products continue In 2008, 394 products were recalled by CPSC, 190 (48%) were children’s products – toys, clothing, furniture, nursery items, sporting goods or art and school supplies. This rate of just over 3.6 children’s products a week is down slightly from 2007, but still significantly higher than any previous year. Combined, the recalls included 18,730,715 units.
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Table 1: Children’s product recalls 2001-2008
Year Total Recalls Total Children’s Product Recalls
% Children’s Product Recalls
Units of Recalled Children’s Products
2008 394 190 48% 18,730,7152007 448 231 52% 46,562,9012006 318 111 35% 18,967,2102005 329 123 37% 27,891,1882004 277 87 31% 156,169,9902003 214 66 30% 6,140,6912002 210 90 43% 11,155,6312001 214 118 55% 22,992,667 Toys lead children’s product recalls Toy recalls represented 41% of the children’s products recalled last year and were 20% of all product recalls. Most toys were recalled for lead or choking hazards. The next largest groups at 15% each were nursery items such as cribs, high chairs and bassinets for entrapment and lead hazards, and clothing, mostly for drawstrings and choking hazards. Almost four million nursery items were recalled. Outdoor and sports involves bicycles, playground equipment and other products meant for sports or outdoor play. This year saw an increase in school supplies recalls – all for lead poisoning hazards. Table 2: 2008 Recalls by product type
Furniture 6 2% 3% 136,400*Jewelry and art supplies are separated for 2008, but included in the toy figures in the following chart, as they were in past years.
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Figure 1: Recalled Products by Type: 2001-2008
Largest recalls for lead poisoning, entrapment and magnet ingestion There were five recalls of at least a million units and ten of 600,000 or more in 2008. The largest was of 2.35 million magnets for science kits or other uses – coated with lead paint. Delta Enterprises had two recalls involving 1,585,000 cribs for entrapment hazards after two deaths. Mega Brands continued to pull magnetic toys that pose a risk of magnet ingestion and Kid Station Toys pulled one million toy phones with small parts that presented a choking hazard. Table 3: Top ten children’s product recalls by unit in 2008
Product Manufacturer # Injuries Hazard # Units Various magnets United
Scientific 0 Lead poisoning 2,350,000
Cribs (2 recalls) Delta Enterprises
4 (2 deaths) Entrapment 1,585,000
MagnaMan Mega Brands 0 Magnet ingestion 1,300,000 Magnetix toys Mega Brands 1 Magnet ingestion 1,100,000 Toy phones Kid Station
Toys 1 Choking 1,000,000
Accessory bags Bonne Bell 0 Lead poisoning 945,000 Bassinets Simplicity, Inc 2 (2 deaths) Entrapment 900,000 Fun and Games magnetic dart boards
Henry Gordy International
0 Magnet ingestion 870,000
Wireless indoor helicopters
Innovage, LLC 1 Burn hazard 685,000
Cribs Simplicity Inc 0 Entrapment 600,000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
# of Recalls
Toys*
Nursery
Outdoor
Clothing
Furniture
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Multiple recalls by eleven companies. This year 11 manufacturers recalled more than one product. OKK Trading had four recalls for lead poisoning, followed by three each for Avon, Battat, and Daiso. Only two companies from last year’s list of multiple recalls show up again this year – Kids II, Inc and Simplicity for Children (SFCA). Both also had two recalls last year. Simplicity has since gone out of business. Table 4: Multiple recalls by manufacturer (2008)
Manufacturer # of Recalls # Units Hazards Injuries OKK Trading 4 11,500 Lead poisoning 0 Avon products 3 131,000 Burn, lead poisoning, choking 0
Despite public attention, lead still leading hazard in recalls. More than one-third (36%) of the children’s products recalled were tainted with lead. The 68 recalls included jewelry, toys, and even a crib that sickened a child. Twenty percent of the recalls involved bodily injury hazards – falls, laceration and impact hazards. Choking, a leading cause of product-related death among young children, accounted for 17% of the recalls followed by entrapment and strangulation (16%), burns (7%) and magnet ingestion (4%). Table 5: Children’s product recalls by hazard (2008)
Manufactured in….China mostly Children’s products recalled in 2008 were manufactured in 21 different countries. Sixty-nine percent of the products recalled were made in China, followed by 7% in Taiwan, and 4% each in the United States, Hong Kong and India. Only one U.S. made toy was recalled – a bead maze that posed a laceration hazard. Other U.S. products recalled include playground equipment, baby carriers, mattresses, and bikes. Most (75%) of the products recalled for lead were from China, but there were also lead-tainted products from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Korea, Peru and Trinidad.
1 report, 2 reports….1,140 reports before a recall Looking at all children’s products recalled last year, there were 1,900 reports of product failures prior to the 190 recalls. Reported incidents can involve injury, but don’t always. It means the product failed in some way that presented a hazard, or it was reported as hazardous by a consumer. Evenflo high chairs far outpaced any other recall with 1,140 reports of incidents prior to recall – makes one wonder what they were waiting for!1 The chart below shows those recalls that involved the most reports of incidents prior to recall. Table 6: Children’s products with the most incidents reported before recall (2008)
Manufacturer Product # Incidents Hazards Evenflo Company Majestic™ High Chairs 1140 Bodily injury
and choking Backyard Leisure Adventure Play Sets 114 Bodily injury Razor, Inc Electric Ride-on Vehicle 60 Bodily injury Jardine Cribs 46 Entrapment Hasbro Nerf™ N-Strike Recon
MEGA Brands MagnaMan Toy Figurines 25 Magnet ingestion
Hundreds of children injured while products remain in stores and homes. Two hundred and ten children were injured before these products were recalled in 2008. Toys had the most injuries, followed by nursery products. However, more than one-third of the nursery product injuries resulted in death. There were no known deaths from these recalled toys. 1 Even more so now that more high chairs were recalled in 2009 with a similar defect and more incident reports.
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Table 7: Injuries prior to recall by product type
Type Recalls Recalls with injuries
Percent of recalls involving injuries
Total Injuries
Children’s Products 190 31 16% 210 Outdoor & Sports 24 9 37% 23 Nursery 28 6 21% 113 Furniture 6 1 17% 1 Toys 77 13 17% 72 Clothing 29 0 - 0 Jewelry 14 0 - 0 Art & School Supplies 13 0 - 0 For the second year in a row, an Evenflo product has the most injuries prior to recall – there were 94 injuries from the Majestic high chair, followed by 46 from a Hasbro toy, the Nerf N-Strike Recon Blaster. There were seven deaths in this year’s recalled products, including six in sleep environments – cribs, bassinet, a toy chest connected to a bed and one in a soccer goal net. Table 8: Products involving the most injuries prior to recall
Manufacturer Product # Injuries Type of Injury Evenflo Company Inc.
Majestic™ High Chairs
94 Bumps and bruises to the head, broken bones, abrasions and cuts
Hasbro Inc. Nerf™ N-Strike Recon Blasters
46 Bruises, abrasions, pinching, blood blisters and welts
Tek Nek Toys Int’l L.P.
Rock ‘N Ride Plush Rocker Toys
10 Bumps, bruises and lacerations
Regal Lager Inc. Phil and Teds Buggy Strollers
9 Injured fingers in stroller’s hinge locking mechanism
Razor USA LLC PowerWing™ Three-Wheeled Scooters
7 Achilles tendon and ankle lacerations
Avon Products Inc.
Cozy Warming Polar Bears
6 Burns
Trek Bicycle Corp
Trek MT220 Girls Bicycles
4 Injuries from falling due to bicycle frame breaking
Miracle Recreation Eq
Playground Tire Swing
3 Cuts and fractured bones
Backyard Leisure LLC
Adventure Play Sets 3 Abrasions and bumps to the head
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Table 9: Products involving deaths prior to recall
Manufacturer Product # Deaths
Hazard
Simplicity Inc. Bassinets 2 Babies entrapped in side rails of bassinet
Bayside Furnishings
LaJolla Boat Bed & Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle Beds
1 Toy chest lid closed on child’s neck
Delta Enterprise Corp.
Drop Side Cribs 1 Spring peg failed, allowing side rail to detach, entrapping child
Delta Enterprise Corp.
Drop Side Cribs 1 Safety peg missing allowing side rail to detach, entrapping
child Playkids U.S.A. Convertible Cribs 1 Child entrapped between mesh
side and mattress Regent Sports Corporation
MacGregor & Mitre Folding Soccer Goals
1 Child entangled in net and strangled
Cribs recalled in record numbers Beginning last year, this report highlighted crib recalls, concerned with the six recalls in 2007. 2008 saw a doubling to a record 12 recalls of cribs; include all sleep environments and there were sixteen recalls.
Figure 2: Crib Recalls
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Crib recalls
recalls
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Table 10: Sleep Environment Recalls (2008)
Recalled Product Hazard Units Incidents Injuries and Deaths
Jardine Cribs Slats break, entrapment
320,000 46 2
Delta Cribs Spring peg can fall out,
entrapment
600,000 3 2 ( 1 death)
Delta Cribs Safety peg can fall out,
entrapment
985,000 12 2 (1 death)
Simplicity, Disney and Graco Bassinets, made by Simplicity and SFCA, Inc
Entrapment hazard
900,000 2 2 deaths
Playkids Convertible Cribs Entrapment in mesh sides
Stanley Built to Grow Cribs Entrapment 1200 0 0 Munire Cribs Falls 24,000 0 0 Mother Hubbards Cribs Falls 1300 0 0 Baby Appleseed Cribs Falls 500 0 0
Civil Penalties or Actions by CPSC After so many recalls two years in a row, one might expect CPSC to take action against these companies. But only one company, Reebok, was fined this year because of lead – a charm distributed with some of the company’s shoes was swallowed by a four-year-old Minnesota boy. The child died and after his death the charm was found to contain 99% lead. Reebok agreed to pay $1 million in that settlement. Additionally, CPSC reached penalty settlements with 17 makers of sweatshirts or outerwear with drawstrings for a total of $685,000.
Recall Effectiveness: A bleak picture When compiling the report of recalls year after year, the numbers tend to add up – a million cribs here, 10,000 lead tainted toys there, another 300,000 magnet toys. The real question is how effective are recalls at getting unsafe products out of consumers’ hands. For this year’s report, KID looked at the eight children’s products recalls in January 2007
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and 17 recalled in January 2008, the beginning of the year covered by this report. Together, the two reports should give a picture of the recall effectiveness measurements at CPSC, if not recall effectiveness itself. KID filed Freedom of Information Requests (FOIA) for the most recent monthly progress report for the Corrective Action Plan and Incident Update for each of the 25 products in July 2008. Table 11: Response to FOIA request for monthly corrective action reports
Action Number of Reports Requested 25 Denied 4 Received 15
-Complete information 9 -Sent, but info blank or left out 6
No forms filed with CPSC 5 No response 1 Of the 25 reports requested, 15 were received. Four were denied, three because CPSC is involved in possible litigation with the company and one for containing “trade secrets.” Five of the recalling firms had filed no reports with CPSC, and in one case, KID never got the information even though CPSC gathered it and sent it to the company. Of the fifteen reports received, only nine companies sent a completed form. The data from many of the forms turns out to be virtually unusable to study recall effectiveness since most are not completely filled in, use information that isn’t consistent, or key information has been blacked out by the company. The percent recovery rate from consumers ranged from a reported .02% of baby rattles and ornaments to 89% of sippy cups from one company, although that number is so vastly different from our experience as to be questionable. As might be expected, companies were more successful retrieving products that were still in the stream of commerce – either with them, the distributor or retailers. But even in those cases, where one might expect 100% retrieval rate, reported rates were as low as 60% and some companies didn’t report. Given the request was filed in July 2008 and giving a margin of 90 days, firms should have been sending at least the April 2008 form. Of the 25 firms, KID got that month’s form or better from 11 of the 21 requests that weren’t denied outright – a less than 50% compliance rate from CPSC’s requirements. The most recent report sent was from RR Donnelley for Reading and Math Aids that covered through September 2008. CPSC staff recommends not looking at the raw numbers of returned or repaired products (who can blame them?), but at the rate of injuries after recall as a measure of the effectiveness of the recall. While CPSC requires that information on the monthly form, KID got it from only 11 of the firms. There were 37 incidents reported and 15 injuries reported after the recalls were announced, involving five recalls. Six of the recalls
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reported no incidents or injuries after recall. But eight of the reports either left that information blank, or blacked it out (four each). More data is in Appendix 2.
Conclusion Both the number of products recalled and the likelihood that many of them remain in homes and child care facilities raise a red flag on this year’s recalls. While the CPSIA passed in 2008 should ensure safer products in the future, CPSC needs to take action now to make recalls more effective and get dangerous products out of children’s hands. • CPSC should immediately begin to plan for and execute the database required by the CPSIA. Given companies’ lack of compliance with self-reporting requirements, CPSC and consumers need access to more information to spot potential hazards and injury trends. • Congress should immediately fully fund CPSC to the levels requested in the CPSIA. In addition, the Commission should be expanded to five commissioners to ensure that all product safety issues can be adequately addressed. • Given the ineffective nature of CPSC’s current recall effectiveness reporting, Congress should call for annual reports on the year’s recall and their effectiveness. Only under public scrutiny will companies put more effort into getting recalled items out of homes and child care facilities. • CPSC should also require more from companies in the event of a recall. In addition to the mandatory recall requirements and product registration cards required by CPSIA, CPSC should require more aggressive outreach after a recall and require a replacement product or refund when possible, increasing the likelihood of retrieval.
Action for Parents and Caregivers KID urges every parent and caregiver to take the following three steps to protect the children in their care. 1) Be aware of the problem: Visit www.KidsInDanger.org for more information on children’s product safety and to sign up for free email alerts to keep up-to-date on recalled products. Consumers can also sign up at www.cpsc.gov to receive notice of recalls by email. 2) Always check products: Take an inventory of the products used with children—at home, at childcare and elsewhere—and check it against the list of recalls at www.cpsc.gov. Check for safety information on car seats at www.nhtsa.gov. Repeat the check every time a new product is bought or a gift or hand-me-down is received. Report any injuries or problems with products to both the manufacturer and CPSC. 3) Spread the word: After learning of a recall, share the news with friends and family and urge them to pass it along. Also, always fill out product registration cards so manufacturers can send recall information. Under the new CPSIA, product registration cards as well as a way to register online is required for durable infant and toddler products.
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Also, take special precautions with sleep environments. Visit KID’s product hazard pages on cribs, portable cribs, bassinets and soft bedding to learn how to provide a safe place for baby to sleep. Report any product that breaks, or appears dangerous. Sometimes it is the only way to bring a hazardous product to CPSC’s attention. Become an Advocate: Let local, state and national lawmakers know that children’s product safety is important. Find out more at www.KidsInDanger.org advocacy pages.
Methodology Kids In Danger obtained all recall information for this report from monthly lists of press releases generated by the CPSC and issued jointly by product manufacturers and the CPSC. Press releases outline the incidents, failures, and injuries caused by the product prior to the date of recall. All numbers, facts, and figures contained in this report were taken from these press releases. Manufacturers have editorial power over the form of the recall release – so it is not certain that these are all the known incidents, just that these were reported. Only children’s products under the jurisdiction of the CPSC were considered. This excludes car seats and booster seats that are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, CPSC does have oversight of car seats that can also be used as infant carriers.
Definitions A children’s product is defined as any product designed or intended for the care of or use by children. Products that pose potential dangers to children but that are not intended for their use, such as cigarette lighters with faulty child resistance locks, are not counted as children’s products. Children’s products were further categorized for this report by the type of product (clothing, furniture, nursery products, sports and outdoor, jewelry, art and school supplies and toys). The product name, manufacturer, date of recall, number of units recalled, type of hazard posed, and number of incidents and injuries were also recorded for children’s products recalled in 2008. (Appendix A)
About Kids In Danger Kids In Danger is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by improving children’s product safety. KID was founded in 1998 by Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar after the death of their 16-month-old son, Danny, in a dangerous portable crib. For more information, call 312.595.0649 or visit www.KidsInDanger.org.
Appendix A: 2008 Children’s Product Recalls
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Date Manufacturer Product Product Type
Hazard Hazard Type Units Recalled
Incidents Injuries
1/24/2008 Pearson Learning Group
ESI-R Screening Materials Art/ School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
18,000 0 0
1/31/2008 RR Donnelley Reading and Math Aids Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
185,000 0 0
2/6/2008 eeBoo Corp Sketchbooks and Colored Spirals
Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
80,000 0 0
2/22/2008 Riverside Publishing Co.
Memory Testing Cards Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
5,300 0 0
3/18/2008 Galison/Mudpuppy Wire-O Bound Journals and Calendars
Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
90,000 0 0
4/10/2008 Michaels Stores Inc
Seasonal Writing Pens Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
310,000 0 0
5/22/2008 American Scientific LLC
Magnets Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
87,000 0 0
5/22/2008 Early Childhood Resources LLC
Yellow Sure Grip Paint Brushes
Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
900 0 0
5/22/2008 United Scientific Various Magnets Art/School Supply
High levels of lead Lead Poisoning
2,350,000 0 0
5/29/2008 QuinCrafts Makit & Bakit Jewelry Sets and Suncatcher Sets