Chairs are one of the most basic pieces of furniture. They don’t really have to do a lot besides sit there and not collapse when someone plops their butt down. Unfortunately, nearly 100,000 wooden folding chairs sold through T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Marshalls stores couldn’t live up to that very low expectation and now they are being recalled. The chairs, which priced at around $30, were sold all over the United States.
According to the official recall bulletin posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the TJX Outdoor Wooden Folding Chairs pose a serious risk of collapsing during use. The chairs don’t seem to be able to handle the weight of a full-grown human and at least 18 of the chairs have resulted in reports of “breaking or collapsing,” with 15 of those incidents causing “minor injuries, including back and neck injuries and lacerations.”
According to the recall alert, the chair can be identified by its design and markings:
This recall involves outdoor wooden folding chairs with armrests, in an oil stain finish, some of which were labeled with “Nautica” on the hang tag. The chairs measure about 22.5 inches long, 21 inches wide and 35 inches tall. The chair back has 8 slats and the seat has 7 slats. The chair may be stamped “MADE IN VIETNAM.”
The company asks that anyone that owns the chair(s) “immediately stop using the recalled chairs and contact TJX for instructions on how to participate in the recall and receive a full refund. Alternatively, consumers can return the recalled chairs to any T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, or HomeGoods store for a full refund.”
The chairs were sold at the stores and online from June 2018 through January 2021. A total “about 92,000” chairs were sold, and all of those will now have to be returned. The company provides the following contact information if you wish to learn more about the recall or want to initiate your claim for a refund:
TJX toll-free at 888-520-0322 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at https://www.recallrtr.com/foldingchair or http://www.tjxmaxx.com, http://www.marshalls.com and http://www.sierra.com and click on “Product Recalls” at the bottom of the page or http://www.homegoods.com and click on “Product Info/Recalls” at the bottom of the page.
The company doesn’t provide details as to why they believe the chairs failed. It’s possible that there was a manufacturing defect that resulted in a small number of the chairs being more prone to failure, or the design itself could be flawed, making all 92,000 of the chairs inherently unsafe to use.
In any case, the fact that the company has chosen to recall all of the nearly 100,000 chairs suggests that they’re just not safe to be sat in. If you have one of these chairs, it’s best to follow the company’s directions and either return it for a refund in-store or contact TJX for information on how to send the chair in.
