Faulty fitness wristbands from Target are recalled after they burn people’s skin in New South Wales

Target fitness wristbands have been pulled from shelves after burning the skin of users.

The faulty Target Activity and Sleep Trackers were sold around Australia from July 2017 until this month.

‘We’ve decided to conduct a voluntary recall of the Target Activity and Sleep Trackers due to a quality issue,’ said a spokeswoman of Target.

‘We recommend customers stop using the item immediately.’ 

Target promised a full refund to customers who returned the faulty fitness accessories to a Target or Target Country store, with or without a receipt.  

The unsafe wristbands were found to have ‘potential lack of insulation that may result in electrolytic action on skin surface.’

Fitness and activity wristbands are electronic devices that monitor and track health-related metrics such as heart rate, distance, calorie intake and sleeping patterns. 

The Target Activity and Sleep Trackers in black (left), blue and pink (right) have been pulled down from shelves after burning skin of users from ‘insufficient insulation’

Advanced fitness wristbands may include the options to call and text, sync to Android and iOS devices, and water and swim-resistance. 

Sarah Agar, Head of Campaigns and Policy at Choice Australia, told Daily Mail Australia it was necessary for the sale of defective products to be illegal in Australia.

‘It’s not illegal to sell unfair products [in Australia] which is shocking to many people,’ she said.

‘The UK, Singapore, Canada all have laws, but Australia falls behind on safety protections.’ 

Ms Agar said Australian legal framework should have a ‘more proactive system’ of product safety laws to boost customer safety in businesses across Australia.

Ms Agar also recommended consumers to check the Product Safety website and sign up to the alerts for up-to-date safety check-ups and product recalls in Australia. 

The department store chain added no other activity trackers were affected by the recall.