Consumer group calls on Peloton to recall treadmills

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League is advising consumers to stop using Peloton treadmills and is calling on Peloton to immediately recall its Peloton Tread+ treadmill exercise machine. According to recent reports, the product poses a danger to children and pets — including a child death — in what has been described by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as a “different hazard pattern than is typically seen.” The CPSC learned that there were dozens of such incidents and issued a safety warning over this past weekend, saying it “found that the public health and safety requires this notice to warn the public quickly of the hazard.” The CPSC also took the unusual step of issuing an administrative subpoena to require Peloton to disclose the name of the child who died.

“This pattern of injury and death is not acceptable, and it is wrong for Peloton to blame user error,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The CPSC shouldn’t have to subpoena a company for information about a child who died using its product. The company should be working closely with the federal safety agency with jurisdiction over these products. Dozens of children getting dragged under a Peloton Treadmill and sustaining grave injuries or death requires immediate action by the company. Peloton should recall these Treadmills at no cost to customers and either redesign them to prevent hazards or stop selling the product altogether.”

Peloton is a $34 billion company predicted to double in value by 2024.

“The CPSC and the company must work together to expedite a recall and get these products out of people’s homes. These injuries are certainly foreseeable, and we thank Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), both of whom chair consumer subcommittees in Congress,” said Greenberg. “We agree with Senator Blumenthal, who called on Peloton to ‘immediately cooperate with the CPSC to recall its dangerous and deadly treadmill. Amid dozens of incidents of hurt kids and pets — with broken limbs, brain injuries, and death after being pulled underneath the machine — it’s clear that the Peloton Tread+ must be recalled.’”

Earlier this month, Congresswoman Schakowsky asked the CPSC to investigate earlier in April, noting: “With families spending more time at home and together, home exercise equipment dangers are especially worrisome, and any potential risks to consumers and their families must be carefully scrutinized. The CPSC must be able to act nimbly in identifying and responding to emerging hazards. In addition to the absence of publicly available information about the child fatality, other publicly reported incidents involving the same treadmill model suggest potential obstacles preventing the Commission from taking swift action to protect the public.”

###

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.