To read Part I, go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n A quick look at
\n Product Safety NZ\u2019s list of product recalls in March shows a girl\u2019s bike sold at PD Mart; three separate dinosaur toys sold at PD Mart; an electric cake toy, magic wand \u2013 one pink, one blue, PD Mart \u2026 the list goes on. Apart from the bike (no manual), these products don\u2019t meet safety requirements because of small parts that can be a choking hazard for children under three.\n <\/p>\n
PD Mart is an international retailer founded in South Africa in 2010 and described as a $2 shop on steroids. Formerly known as Panda Mart, it opened its first New Zealand shop in Auckland in 2023 and a Christchurch store in 2024.<\/p>\n
Product Safety NZ is the division of the Ministry of Building, Innovation and Employment that oversees the safety of products other than food, medicines and vehicles, publishing product safety and unsafe goods notices issued by the Commerce Commission. Its website lists 87 recalled products sold by PD Mart, including baby products, toys, bikes, walkers, car seats and electronics. The retailer has a \u201ccorrective notice\u201d on its home page linking to these recalls.<\/p>\n
![\"PD]()
PD Mart has sold 87 products recalled in NZ. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Last September, the commission issued a \u201cStop Now\u201d notice over a child car seat sold at PD Mart. \u201cWhat it\u2019s saying is we, the commission, consider that this is a really dangerous thing that you\u2019re doing and we\u2019re instructing you please to stop doing this right now,\u201d explains commission chair John Small.<\/p>\n
The commission has a team of four inspectors out in the field ensuring compliance with a set of eight product safety standards and seven unsafe goods notices. The product safety standards cover baby walkers, children\u2019s nightwear, children\u2019s toys, cigarette lighters, household cots, pedal bikes, sunscreens and multipurpose ladders. The seven products on the unsafe goods list are: small, high-powered magnets, chainsaws without a chain brake, lead in children\u2019s toys, hot-water bottles that do not meet the standard, candles and candlewicks containing lead, pistol crossbows and inclined infant sleep products.<\/p>\n
The commission\u2019s policing role is limited to these unsafe goods and the eight items covered by product safety standards, says Small. (Electrical items fall under the Electrity Act, monitored by WorkSafe NZ). As for product recalls, \u201cif we see someone still selling a recalled product, then they\u2019re very clearly in breach and we\u2019ll go after them,\u201d says Small.<\/p>\n
But how do people who have already bought these goods know they\u2019ve been recalled? Ian Caplin, MBIE\u2019s consumer protection spokesperson, says responsibility for advertising and informing customers about a recall rests with retailers, who are also required to notify MBIE of any recalls. \u201cFailure to notify MBIE of a recall is an offence under the Fair Trading Act and a business could be fined up to $600,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
PD Mart told the Listener it has been working \u201cto strengthen our compliance systems and processes\u201d. \u201cAs a relatively new retailer, we acknowledge that there have been areas where our understanding of specific regulatory requirements needed improvement,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
As an organisation, we would say don\u2019t shop at Temu or Shein if you\u2019re thinking about buying toys for your children.<\/p>\n
Gemma Rasmussen, Consumer NZ<\/p>\n
Independent agency Consumer NZ says the number of product recalls in general is concerning and it plans to put more resources into the issue this year. Since the first recall of sand products on November 12, 103 items of all types have been recalled.<\/p>\n
Gemma Rasmussen, Consumer\u2019s head of research and advocacy, says internal standards are high at large retailers such as The Warehouse, Kmart and ToyWorld, \u201cbecause it\u2019s very bad business practice to be selling unsafe products\u201d. Occasionally, unsafe products can slip through, \u201cbut it\u2019s not like New Zealanders need to suddenly be incredibly afraid of everything on the shelves being unsafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Rasmussen does think in the case of asbestos-contaminated play sand the cost of testing and clean-ups should be covered by Kmart and other suppliers.<\/p>\n
The bigger concern for Consumer NZ is the $2 stores and cheaper outlets, such as PD Mart, where products are imported and recalls have been more frequent. \u201cThey\u2019re not doing the internal checking which those big stores are.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says although the Commerce Commission is monitoring PD Mart, the stores are free to continue operating. \u201cI\u2019m not hearing about really large fines. It\u2019s not sending a message of deterrence to other businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there are the offshore retailers such as Temu and Shein, which have proved a big hit with Kiwi consumers with their low prices and money-back guarantees. \u201cAs an organisation, we would say don\u2019t shop at Temu or Shein if you\u2019re thinking about buying toys for your children, or if you\u2019re thinking about electronic products. Product testing has consistently shown high rates of failure or of being unsafe,\u201d says Rasmussen.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d like to see updates to the Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act to accommodate e-retailers, including higher penalties for businesses providing unsafe products.<\/p>\n
Small says the likes of Temu and Shein already fall within the Commerce Commission\u2019s responsibilities. \u201cIf they are advertising for sale goods that are on our lists, then we have jurisdiction and we will exercise that. We keep an eye out for it and if we see unsafe goods being sold or things in breach of the product safety standards, then we go to the trader.\u201d<\/p>\n
With children\u2019s toys, a list of items are excluded from product safety standards, as set out in the Product Safety Standards (Children\u2019s Toys) Regulations 2005. They include dummies, flotation aids, plasticine and playground equipment such as swings and seesaws. <\/p>\n
Toys that are covered include rattles, squeeze toys, push-and-pull toys, puzzles, jack-in-the-boxes, stuffed animals and cars and trucks. <\/p>\n
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