H&M pays $138k penalty over fire safety warnings on 4000 kids' items

Fashion retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz Pty Ltd (H&M Australia) has paid $138,600 in penalties for allegedly selling more than 4,000 items of children’s clothing without complying with the required fire hazard warning label requirements in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

H&M Australia paid these penalties after the ACCC issued it with seven infringement notices for the alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law relating to failures to comply with the Consumer Goods (Children’s Nightwear and Limited Daywear and Paper Patterns for Children’s Nightwear) Safety Standard.

Some of the garments the ACCC says have unacceptable risk. Image: ACCC

The standard requires children’s nightwear to carry an appropriate fire hazard label - either “high fire danger” or “low fire danger” depending on the composition of the garment and its flammability test results.

Some of the products did not have any fire hazard warning label attached. For others, where a fire hazard warning label was attached, it either did not meet the requirements of the safety standard because of the nature of the warning or the position of the label on the product.

“While the products complied with the flammability requirements of the standard, their failure to carry the required warning labels to alert consumers to the dangers is a serious matter,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“Without the correct labelling, parents or carers may have been unaware of the severity of the risk to children wearing these garments and being close to heat or flame. This creates an unacceptable risk of serious injuries to children.”

“We expect suppliers to be aware of their product safety obligations and ensure that they fully comply with these obligations, including by ensuring their products come with all required safety warnings. This includes having adequate systems in place to ensure compliance,” Ms Lowe said.

H&M Australia supplied 4,473 items of four types of children’s clothing in Australia - pyjamas, dressing gowns, poncho towels with ties and all-in-one pyjamas with feet - which failed to comply with the safety standard. The company issued voluntary recall notices for the products in July 2024, April 2025 and June 2025.

H&M Australia has admitted its conduct contravened or was likely to contravene the Australian Consumer Law. The company has provided a court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC with a commitment to conducting an awareness campaign about product safety fire hazard warning labels and to further advertise the recalls. 

It has also undertaken to review its existing compliance processes and establish a product safety compliance program.

Consumers who have purchased these items should stop using these products immediately and return to the nearest H&M store for a full refund. No receipt is required.