The thought of purchasing a flashy cell phone holder can prove pretty tempting (I have tennis great Roger Federer to thank for helping me to succumb), and when end-users invest their trust and cash in a product, they expect not only to fetch a compliment or two for their selection but also to enjoy a safe tenure as its owner. For the buyers of 263,000 iPhone cases, though, the latter prospect will not occur, as MixBin Electronics yesterday issued a recall for the containers, citing two dozen global complaints of skin irritation and chemical burns.
Consumers bought the items between October 2015 and June 2017 in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with retailers Amazon, Henri Brendel, Nordstrom Rack, Tony Burch and Victoria’s Secret, plus getmixbin.com, uniting them with the liquid-and-glitter-containing objects. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has noted that 19 of the gripes come from domestic residents, whose aims to secure their iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 purchases left them in dire straits because of leaked liquid.
On its website, the entity declares that the recall covers “all liquid glitter mobile phone cases” for said devices, with Victoria’s Secret having peddled 16 of the 24 styles, including some truly gaudy examples. It also stresses immediate correspondence with the New Jersey-situated MixBin Electronics so as to secure full refunds for the China-made vanity commodity.
The voluntary suppression by the Garden State distributor and its interactions with the government agency bring to mind the constant need to evaluate how and where an item ends up sold. The five retailers who can no longer hawk the questionable cases are definitely going to take financial hits, and since similar goods abound in the promotional products industry, suppliers and distributors must have exchanges dealing with safety concerns and supply chain compliance not only with cases but with every other piece of handiwork.
Recalls will always inspire many reactions, but the chief result of them should be a call to be as diligent as possible. With respect to these iPhone cases, perhaps the biggest lesson to gain is learning that all that glitters is not gold.
