Australia’s consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), alleged the firm sold the Emma Bow headbands without mandatory safety warnings.
Australia’s most loved children’s entertainers, The Wiggles, are in a legal fix after it apparently breached consumer law following the sales of Emma Bow headbands without mandatory safety warnings.
The country’s consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) made their findings public recently. In those findings, the watchdog claimed that the Emma Bow headbands were powered by button batteries.
Among other details, the watchdog stated that The Wiggles Holdings Pty Ltd sold the headbands without mandatory safety warnings, needed for those products which contain batteries.
Considering button batteries could be swallowed by young children, resulting in health hazards, Australia’s consumer watchdog’s concerns appear genuine.
According to various media reports, from June 2022 to March 2024, The Wiggles Holdings Pty Ltd have sold about 3,164 headbands. While about 600 headbands were supplied to other third-party retailers by importer and distributor CA Australia.
The Wiggles’ response
However, The Wiggles released a statement soon after the watchdog made its findings public. The firm claimed that the products were manufactured and supplied by a licensee even before the current Information Standard was introduced in 2020.
It added that the licensee had a surplus of stock produced prior to 2020 due to cancellations following the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they could not identify that the products no longer complied with updated labelling regulations.
The firm has now decided to produce an episode of their parenting podcast, in which they will highlight the headband’s recall and safety issues, relating to button batteries.
The Wiggles stated that the actions are part of a “range of actions” it has been taking in partnership with the ACCC. Even the firm’s spokesperson maintained that the safety and well-being of children and families is always of ‘highest priority’.
They added that the firm is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety, quality and reliability.
ACCC’s concern
In the meantime, the ACCC deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, stated that The Wiggles online store, at concerts, and by other physical retailers sold the bow without a warning on the product.
The watchdog has advised the headband users to refer to the recall notice for further information.
Earlier in May 2025, the ACCC issued Hungry Jack eight infringement notices for supplying a Garfield-themed toy and even fined $150,240. The ACCC claimed Jack’s Garfield-themed toy allegedly did not comply with button battery standards.
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