‘Potentially deadly’: Kmart sued over cosmetic nail glue, button battery products

• Australia’s consumer watchdog has commenced legal action against retail giant Kmart over concerns it sold millions of products that breached consumer law.
• The action specifically concerns units of the retailer’s OXX fingernail glue, and several watches that contained button batteries.
• The ACCC argues that Kmart’s alleged failure to provide appropriate warnings could prove “potentially deadly”.

Retail juggernaut Kmart is being sued by Australia’s consumer watchdog over allegations it sold millions of products that failed to carry the appropriate warnings for shoppers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it had commenced Federal Court action against the retailer, alleging that millions of products had been sold that are in breach of consumer law.

Specifically, the ACCC alleges Kmart sold millions of units of its OXX cosmetic nail glue without warning consumers that serious burns could occur if the product was misused.

Additionally, the ACCC says Kmart failed to comply with button battery standards for digital and analogue watches and GPS-trackable smart tags.

ACCC’s Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said the consequences of selling millions of products without adequate warnings could be catastrophic.

“Kmart sold millions of units of some of these products, each posing a potential danger to consumers, including young children,” she said.

“We will allege Kmart’s conduct showed serious compliance failures which exposed the public to a significant risk of product safety harm.

“Button batteries are potentially deadly to young children if swallowed or inserted. We expect all businesses, especially large retailers like Kmart, to have consumer safety front of mind.”

The ACCC alleges in the case of the fingernail glue that several consumers reported suffering burns to Kmart between August 2017 and December 2024.

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Some of the burns required hospitalisation, and in some cases, skin grafts.

In December 2024, Kmart added a safety warning to the product about the risk of burns when it comes into contact with fabric.

“We consider that Kmart’s failure to warn consumers of the risk of burns after receiving numerous consumer reports of burn injuries associated with the use of the nail glue exposed consumers to an ongoing risk of serious injury, as an incredibly serious matter,” Lowe said.

“It was important for Kmart to address this, once it was made aware of these serious product safety concerns.”

In the allegations surrounding button batteries, the ACCC alleges the retailer failed to test two models of its Anko-branded kids’ watches, and seven models of analogue watches, before they were sold in-store.

Australian legislation requires all products that contain button batteries to be tested before they are supplied to the consumer, given the high danger to children if a button battery is swallowed.

The watchdog estimates Kmart sold around 64,00 button battery-powered watches that did not comply.

These watches contained button batteries, but Kmart did not test them prior to supply to show that young children could not open the battery compartments. This is despite many of the watches being specifically designed for children,” Lowe said.

The ACCC alleges it also sold 800 Anko-branded “smart tag” units, a duplicate of Apple’s AirTag product, without the mandatory button battery information standard.

The watchdog is seeking penalties and costs in its Federal Court action.

A spokesperson for Kmart told The Money Edition that the safety of customers was its “highest priority” and it was disappointed the ACCC chose to take action on “historical matters”.

“The watch button battery matters are historical and relate to compliance processes in 2023. The smart tag matter was self-identified by Kmart in 2024 and a voluntary recall conducted,” the spokesperson said.

“No injuries were reported for any of these products. We have continued to strengthen our product safety and compliance processes.

“While the incidents with nail glues are also historical, we regret any injury associated with these products and apologise to anyone affected. Kmart remains of the view the labelling and warnings were appropriate to prevent misuse.

“We take our reporting obligations seriously and submitted mandatory injury reports about these products to the ACCC.

“We have cooperated with the ACCC throughout its investigation and are disappointed at its decision to take action on historical matters that Kmart has addressed.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Kmart