Blumenthal Calls for FTC Investigation of Deceptive Advertising Practices by Infant Sleep Product Manufacturers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging an investigation into seemingly deceptive advertising practices on the parts of two weighted sleep sack and swaddle manufacturers: Dreamland Baby and Nested Bean. Today’s letter follows the companies’ continued refusal to address their broad, unverified safety claims about their products in the face of strong opposition from child safety experts and Blumenthal’s previous requests for information.

“I ask that the Commission investigate these companies to determine whether any unlawful, unfair, or deceptive advertising practices are taking place and potentially harming millions of families,” wrote Blumenthal in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan. “The stakes are simply too high to allow weighted infant sleep products to be advertised as ‘safe,’ especially without a clear disclaimer explaining the lack of an agreed-upon standard for determining safety.”

Last year, Blumenthal wrote to Dreamland Baby founder and CEO Tara Williams and Nested Bean founder and president Mansi Gangan raising concern over several dubious safety claims made by the companies despite the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) all advising parents against the use of weighted sleep products for infants. Since then, both companies have failed to meaningfully engage with Blumenthal’s requests for information or make critical safety updates to their websites that provides clear and transparent information to consumers.

“I am deeply disappointed by your company’s refusal to engage meaningfully with my office to discuss critical safety concerns concerning your weighted sleep products,” wrote Blumenthal in a follow-up letter sent today to Williams. A similar letter was sent to Gangan. “As I mentioned in my letter of December 6, 2023, I am alarmed by the lack of independent research into the safety of weighted sleep products for infants and the misleading claims your company has made to attract vulnerable and unsuspecting parents and caregivers.”

In his follow-up letter to Williams, Blumenthal further underscored his concerns over Dreamland Baby’s lack of transparency, writing, “As a result of my initial inquiry, your company removed safety claims from your website, including the statements that your product ‘[exceeded] all CPSC standards’ and that it was ‘the world’s first safety certified weighted blanket designed for infants.’ As you know, there are no federal standards for weighted sleep products and those statements were misleading. While I appreciate your company’s efforts, they do not change the fact that thousands of parents and caregivers purchased, and continue to use, your product based on those claims.”

Practices by the companies may constitute unlawful behavior under the FTC’s “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” within the Commission’s enforcement authority.

The full text of the letter to the FTC is available here. The letter to Dreamland Baby is available here. The letter to Nested Bean is available here.

-30-