Is Your Child’s Sleepwear Safe? What Parents Need to Know About Flammable Fabrics

As parents, we spend a lot of time thinking about what our kids wear—how it fits, how it looks, how it holds up to messy snacks and play time. But one question that doesn’t always come up is how safe is our children’s clothing?

It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but it’s important. Unsafe children’s clothing leads to hundreds of hospitalizations each year, and one of the most serious risks is flammability. Certain fabrics catch fire more easily and burn more rapidly than others. And, while the government regulates children’s clothing, not all manufacturers follow these safety standards. For young children, especially while sleeping, that can pose a serious risk.

Here, we take a look at the risks of flammable fabrics and what makes children’s sleepwear safe.

What Makes Some Clothes More Flammable Than Others?

When it comes to flammability, not all fabrics are created equal. Different materials react in different ways to heat or open flames.

Here’s how common materials compare:

• Cotton and Cotton Blends: Soft, breathable, and, unfortunately, highly flammable—especially when loose-fitting—untreated cotton and cotton blends are not an ideal choice for children’s clothing or sleepwear.
• Polyester: A synthetic material that’s naturally flame-resistant, polyester is often used in children’s sleepwear and other clothing items since it does not typically catch fire easily or burn rapidly.
• Terrycloth: Terrycloth is absorbent and, therefore, commonly used for bathrobes and towels. However, it’s prone to quick ignition, making it generally unsafe for children’s clothing or sleepwear.

The way a garment fits also affects how flammable it is, as well as how quickly it burns.

• Loose-Fitting Garments: Loose, oversized garments are more likely to come into contact with flames and other heat sources, making them more likely to catch fire. They’re also more likely to burn longer and faster, as the extra oxygen between the clothing and the skin helps fuel flames.
• Snug-Fitting Garments: With snug or tightly fitting clothing, there’s less air between the fabric and skin. This means there’s also less oxygen to fuel flames, making these garments safer, even if they’re not made from flame-resistant materials.

To reduce the risk of burns, manufacturers are required to either use inherently flame-resistant fabrics, like polyester, or treat garments with flame-retardant chemicals. These treatments help the fabric self-extinguish if it catches fire.

Are Flame-Resistant Clothes Safe?

Many parents feel stuck when it comes to choosing between untreated but potentially flammable clothing for their children and garments that have been treated with fire-retardant chemicals. The good news is you don’t necessarily have to.

When it comes to less flammable fabrics, there are two types:

• Flame-Resistant Fabrics: Flame-resistant fabrics are typically made from synthetic materials, like polyester or nylon, that naturally resist catching fire or burning, even when exposed to prolonged heat. Rather than igniting and burning, flame-resistant fabrics eventually melt.
• Flame-Retardant Fabrics: Flame-retardant fabrics, on the other hand, are made from standard or natural materials, like cotton, but are treated with flame-retardant coatings. These coatings are made from various chemicals and help slow the rate at which fabrics burn. They also help fabrics self-extinguish.

While research into the safety of flame-retardant chemicals is ongoing, the general consensus among experts is that flame-resistant fabrics are safe. In fact, federal regulations require most children’s sleepwear and loungewear to pass flammability testing requirements.

How Common Is Flammable Children’s Clothing?

Clothing-related burn injuries among children are more common than many parents realize, and the risks associated with flammable fabrics are concerning. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), loose-fitting cotton or cotton-blend garments, commonly used as sleepwear, are linked to an estimated 200 to 300 emergency room-treated burn injuries each year.

While federal safety standards exist to help protect children from these types of injuries, many clothing manufacturers ignore these regulations. According to a study by Kids In Danger (KID):

• Children’s clothing recalls doubled from 2021 to 2022, marking the highest number of children’s clothing recalls in nearly a decade.
• Of the 32 total children’s clothing recalls in 2022, the vast majority—22 recalls, or nearly 69%—were due to federal flammability standard violations.

Unfortunately, even when dangerous clothing items are recalled, they often continue to circulate. The same study found that, in general, recalled children’s products were corrected only about 25% of the time. Parents may not always be informed about recalls, or recalled items may be given or donated to friends, family, and secondhand retailers, like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. As a result, flammable pajamas, sleep sets, bathrobes, and other garments can remain in circulation for years.

You can search product recalls, including children’s products and, specifically, children’s clothing products, on the CPSC’s website.

The Laws That Protect Kids—and Their Limits

The flammability of children’s sleepwear and loungewear is regulated under federal law. According to the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), garments made for children above nine months old up to size 14 must meet strict flammability requirements outlined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These standards cover not only the materials used but also how the clothing fits.

In 2019, the CPSC updated federal guidelines to emphasize that traditionally flammable fabrics used in children’s sleepwear, like cotton, must either be flame-resistant or designed to fit snugly enough to minimize fire risk.

You can see a full list of flammability requirements for infant and children’s sleepwear here: https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Flammable-Fabrics-Act.

Despite these laws, manufacturers often violate safety standards and allow dangerous, flammable children’s clothing into the hands of consumers.

Children deserve safety, and families deserve peace of mind. When manufacturers fail to follow the law or negligently cut corners, they must be held accountable.

Kids’ Clothing Safety Tips for Parents

Children’s clothing recalls affect hundreds of thousands of individual garments, many of which are sold through major online retailers like Amazon, Shein, and RH. This raises the question: If well-known retailers like these are selling non-compliant products, how can parents be sure that the clothes they buy for their children are safe?

Here are some simple ways to make safer clothing choices for your kids:

• Choose flame-resistant or flame-retardant sleepwear when possible. Polyester is a good option that’s commonly used in children's pajamas.
• Snug-fitting sleepwear is safer than loose-fitting garments. Even if it’s made of cotton, snug-fit designs reduce the oxygen needed to sustain a fire.
• Avoid cotton blends for sleepwear, especially if the garment is loose-fitting. These materials ignite quickly and burn fast.
• Skip the bathrobes at bedtime. Terry cloth bathrobes are cozy, but they can be highly flammable.
• Don’t reuse adult loungewear or T-shirts as children’s sleepwear. They’re not tested for flammability the same way kids’ clothing is.
• Check children’s clothing labels. Look for tags that mention compliance with federal flammability standards.
• Double-check smoke detectors. Make sure there’s one outside your child’s bedroom and that the batteries work.
• Be cautious when shopping secondhand. Recalled items sometimes end up in thrift stores. If something looks older or doesn’t have a tag, skip it.

As parents, there’s a lot we can’t control—but we can control what our kids wear to bed. By choosing safe sleepwear, you can help your little one sleep safe and sound.