Culver City Firm and Feds Recall Flammable Dresses

The Culver City-based apparel firm Topson Downs and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a recall of about 2,100 “Mint Chili Combo” dresses sold at the Impulse Department of Macy’s department stores nationwide and on macys.com due to risk of flammability. Apparel flammability standards are regulated in the U.S. under the Flammable Fabrics Act.

Repeated calls to interview a spokesperson for Topson Downs were not returned.

The India-made dresses were sold from March to May of this year for about $60 under the brand name Bar III. They show a pattern with black and multi-colored checks, are fully lined, and include a sheer rayon outer layer. They were sold in five sizes from extra small to extra large.

No injuries or incidents have been reported but purchasers are instructed to stop wearing the dress immediately and return them to Macy’s for a full refund. If consumers need additional information they may contact Macy’s toll-free at (888) 257-5949 between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; visit macys.com; or contact Topson Downs at (800) 241-2975 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time or at customerservice@topsondowns.com

The privately-held company, founded in 1971, describes itself online as a “global leader in the high-volume, quick-response apparel manufacturing industry” with operations in 12 countries on three continents and customers including Walmart, Target, Urban Outfitters and Macy’s.

The flammable dress recall is an apparently rare instance of trouble with regulatory authorities for Topson Downs. A search of online records shows the last prominent incident involving the firm or its predecessor entities was in 1996 when the California Department of Industrial Relations announced that seven apparel firms including Topson Downs of California, Inc. were exposed as contracting with an El Monte, Calif. sweatshop where more than 109 employees were working in “virtual slavery” sewing garments up to 22 hours a day, seven days a week, for $2 an hour. More than $1 million in unpaid wages from the contractors and other sources was distributed to the workers after proceedings set in motion by a state raid.

A summary of the case from the The National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute puts the number of contractors and settlement amount somewhat higher, and notes the contractors contended they were unaware of the sweatshop and its conditions for workers.

Topson Downs is headquartered in a former AT&T call center at 3840 Watseka Ave. in Culver City that’s described at the city’s website as a “state of the art office space and fashion studio” highlighting numerous sustainable design elements.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it is “charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.” The agency adds that “deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually.

"CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products–such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.”

The CPSC maintains a database of consumer product recall notices that is updated regularly. Recall notices can be searched by date, name of company, type of product or hazard, and jurisdiction of manufacture.