Kmart is facing legal action in Australia over allegations that it sold millions of bottles of OXX fake fingernail glue without warning customers that the product could cause serious burns.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims some users, including children, suffered third-degree burns and required hospital treatment, with some needing skin grafts. The allegations relate to seven varieties of the retailer’s own-brand nail glue.
Consumers also reported that the glue steamed, smoked, burned or melted when it came into contact with fabric, according to legal documents filed in the Federal Court.
The ACCC alleges Kmart received more than 50 complaints about the products between August 2017 and December 2024, but continued selling them without a warning about the risk of burns.
Kmart updated the packaging in December 2024, although the watchdog says products carrying the earlier packaging continued to be sold until February 2025. The glue was still listed for sale on Kmart’s website.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said the burns could occur when the adhesive came into contact with clothing or other fabric.
“It’s a chemical reaction, in essence, where the glue comes into contact with fabric,” she said.
“Let’s say, for example, you were applying the product onto your hands, and you were wearing a pair of trousers. If the product dripped onto the trouser, that’s where the reaction would occur … if the fabric is on your skin, it burns, and in some instances, can stick.”
The ACCC claims neither the bottle nor its packaging warned of the burn risk, despite carrying other instructions about avoiding contact with the skin and eyes, not using the product on irritated or infected nails or skin, and seeking medical advice if it was swallowed or entered the eyes.
“Not all consumers can afford to go regularly to the nail salon to have these products applied professionally. However, we expect that consumers will be warned about material risks that they are engaging with, so they can make a choice at the time of purchase about whether or not they are comfortable to take on that risk,” Ms Lowe said.
“That opportunity, we say, was not provided to consumers in this instance.”
She described the alleged failure to warn customers, despite reports of injuries, as an “incredibly serious matter”. The ACCC said withholding safety information could amount to false or misleading representations in breach of Australian consumer law.
Button battery allegations
The legal action also concerns Kmart products containing button batteries, including children’s digital watches and GPS tracking tags.
The small, flat batteries can cause serious injury if swallowed by children, and products containing them must carry warnings for parents and meet safety requirements.
The ACCC alleges Kmart failed to conduct required safety-feature testing before selling two models of Anko children’s digital watches and seven models of analogue watches. About 64,000 of the watches were sold between June 2022 and November 2024.
“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,” Ms Lowe said.
The watchdog also alleges Kmart sold about 800 Anko GPS tracking tags that did not meet safety standards because they displayed some, but not all, of the warnings required by law.
A Kmart spokeswoman said the retailer was “disappointed at [the ACCC’s] decision to take action on historical matters”, adding that it had co-operated with the investigation and addressed the issues.
“We regret any injury associated with these products and apologise to anyone affected,” she said.
“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.”
Companies found to have sold products without mandatory safety information can face a maximum penalty of $100 million under Australian consumer law.
