uWhy Are Some Of Disney’s Captain Phasma Costumes “Boy” Products And Others Are Unisex?r

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  (Left: Courtesy of BleedingCool.com; Right: DisneyStore.com)

  You might be aware of this, but Disney has a new Star Wars flick coming out soon. As such, there’s been a flood of products tied to The Force Awakens — everything from toys to costumes, droid dolls to pajama sets. One of those costumes is for the Captain Phasma character, female villain played by Gwendoline Christie (aka Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones) — a character that girls and boys alike might want to dress up as for Halloween (or for a regular Tuesday). So how come it’s being sold with a “BOY” label on it at a Disney store?

  The children’s version of the costume sold online in the Disney store is marketed simply as for “kids.” But a reader of the blog BleedingCool.com noticed it was a different story in a local Disney store in the U.S., sending in a photo of the costume with a “BOY” label next to the size.

  What gives? We reached out to Disney to find out why there was a boy version, if there was a “GIRL” package label as well, and why it’s a unisex product online but not on Disney’s store shelves. We were put in touch with a representative from Rubie’s Costume Company, the company who actually makes the costumes for Disney. The rep explained that “boys” and “girls” packaging was used for the Captain Phasma costume initially, but the company later decided to stick with unisex packaging, “insuring that the message conveyed that could be worn and enjoyed by both boys and girls and the adult costume by men and women.”

  “However, a small amount of product inadvertently surfaced in the market place with the ‘BOYS’ package, and for this we sincerely apologize,” the rep says, adding that all current production is clearly labeled as a unisex costume, in both kids and adult sizes.

  We reached out to Rubie’s to clarify where specifically the products could’ve surfaced in the marketplace, in addition to Disney stores, and will update this post when we hear back.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uDelta Opening First “Sky Spa” To Pamper Employees Next Monthr

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  (Quinn Dombrowski)

  After flying thousands of miles and catering to (sometimes unruly) passengers, flight attendants might need a few minutes to unwind and forget about all that work for a while. That’s part of the reason Delta Air Lines is opening three “sky spas” where employees can be pampered in their downtime.

  The Los Angeles Times reports that starting next month, employees of the carrier can get discounted beauty treatments and spa services, as well as uniform alterations, when stopping over in Salt Lake City, Detroit, or Atlanta.

  Delta says the sky spas – the first of which opens in Salt Lake City next month – are meant to keep employees happy, so they, in return, keep customers happy.

  “When our employees feel great, it’s reflected in the experience they provide our customers,” Allison Ausband, Delta’s senior vice president of in-flight service, tells the L.A. Times.

  The Atlanta and Detroit spas are slated to open next year.

  Delta Air Lines to pamper workers with airport spa [The Los Angeles Times]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uMarshalls Sorry That Mom Had To Breastfeed In Bathroom Instead Of Dressing Roomr

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  The mom says Marshalls refused to let her nurse in a dressing room, and instead directed her to a bathroom.

  While Oregon law explicitly states that “A woman may breast-feed her child in a public place,” the staff at a Portland Marshalls store are apparently not well-versed in local laws or their employer’s own policies.

  Over the weekend, a mom named Karina posted a photo on Facebook of her nursing her baby in a bathroom stall.

  “Yes, this is me sitting on a toilet feeding my sweet,” she writes, “after I was denied my right to breastfeed where I wanted to by a [Marshalls] employee.”

  Karina says she wasn’t even trying to — gasp, shock — breastfeed out in the open, but had asked if she could use a dressing room, presumably where she’d have privacy and folks who are easily offended by the site of a bared breast would not have to turn their eyes from seeing one being used for its most basic biological function.

  Rather than let her use the dressing room or point out some less-trafficked part of the store, Katrina says she was directed to a bathroom stall.

  “What a way to treat breastfeeding customers,” she writes, “shaming them for breastfeeding, making them feel embarrassed that you need to feed your child.”

  In response, a rep for Marshalls tells KATU-TV that the retailer’s existing breastfeeding policy “instructs associates to allow customers to breastfeed as they choose within stores.”

  Marshalls says its has “looked into this matter and regret that it may not have been followed in this instance. We have asked the customer involved to reach out to us directly so we may resolve the matter and apologize for any inconvenience.”

  As always, we point you to this handy reference list from the National Conference of State Legislatures with links to each state’s relevant laws on nursing in public (Hint: It’s allowed).

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uAmtrak Extends Service That Allows Passengers To Walk Bikes Onboardr

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  (SchuminWeb)

  When you’ve already cruised the highways and byways of your hometown, the idea of a bike trip in another state can certainly be appealing — there are new hills to vanquish, deep forests or vast deserts waiting to be discovered on two wheels and long stretches of road to zoom on. To help folks who need to travel to hook up with popular bike trails and routes, Amtrak is expanding its service that lets passengers bring their bikes onboard trains.

  Perhaps you don’t have a car or don’t want to drive with your bikes to a certain trail, or you don’t want to make the entire trip by bike. To make it easier for cyclists, Amtrak has been trying out the walk-on bike program recently, first on the Port Huron, MI to Chicago line, then on Heartland Flyer trains in Texas and Oklahoma.

  The roll-on, roll-off service is now commencing on Capitol Limited trains between Chicago and Washington, D.C., marking the first overnight route that will allow bikes onboard, reports the Chicago Tribune.

  Amtrak currently does have some trains that allow bikes, where passengers have to pay a $10 fee to check their bikes, as well as $15 for a special box to put the bike’s parts in in special boxes that are designed to be reusable — but people usually don’t use them again, Amtrak says. And you can only use the service at stations staffed by Amtrak attendants.

  The walk-on service on the Capitol Limited costs $20 and requires advanced booking, to ensure you’ve got space on one of the train’s seven bike racks. Unlike the boxed-bike check system, the walk-on service allows passengers to stow their wheels in a section of a Superliner coach, where they can easily grab them and go when they reach their stop.

  The 16-stop route provides access to popular bike trails in Indiana, as well as the 330-mile bike trail system between Pittsburgh and Washington .

  “We wanted to get this bike pilot project started before fall color season in order to receive a lot of feedback from cyclists, who will now be able to go to any stop along the route,” an Amtrak spokesman told the Tribune.

  Amtrak expands rails-to-trails service for cyclists [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uBlue Bell Workers Speak Out About Gross Conditionsr

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  (kusine)
  

  Was the listeriosis outbreak that sickened at least ten people and killed three a terrible random event for Blue Bell Creamery, or the result of poor sanitation and policies? Former workers in one of the company’s Texas plants have now come forward to say that the company’s rapid growth in recent years led to unsafe conditions, such as water dripping on frozen treats and machinery that never stopped running so it could be cleaned.

  One worker interviewed by the Houston Chronicle said that while cleaning the 200-gallon ice-cream mixing tank, sometimes the water would be closer to room temperature than hot enough to effectively remove butterfat and, more importantly, bacteria from the equipment. It might not seem like a big deal to have streaks of fat on equipment that’s going to be used to make more ice cream soon, but under butterfat is actually a favorite place for bacteria to lurk.

  One worker who was willing to give his name and job worked at the plant for years, including time cleaning equipment and breaking down machines so they could be cleaned. He reported problems such as cross-contamination between different ice cream flavors that could cause problems for people with food allergies, but says that supervisors dismissed his concerns.

  As the brand expanded into new markets, employees say that they cut corners to keep production going, even as the company remained a pleasant enough place to work. “There was a lot I thought wasn’t right, but I didn’t know nobody I could go to. They own the whole town,”

  Former Blue Bell workers describe dirty, unsafe conditions at Brenham ice cream plant [Dallas Morning News/Houston Chronicle]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uPharmaceutical Companies Using Fitness Trackers To Collect Data On Drug Trials, Other Researchr

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  Pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers are turning to fitness trackers – like the Fitbit – to gather more precise data on the effects of medications.
  (Kim Moyse)

  Consumers looking to improve their health have turned to fitness trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, Vivofit, and Fuse that record the user’s heart rate, calories burned, steps walked, and other pertinent data. These devices are also increasingly being used for another purpose: tracking the effectiveness of new medications in drug trials and other research for pharmaceutical companies.

  Bloomberg reports that the gadgets have become a critical tool for medical researchers and drug makers vying to understand and bring drugs to the market faster.

  By strapping fitness trackers on trial participants, companies have been able to streamline research and collect more precise data about their products.

  “The use of wearables has the potential to be a revolution,” Kara Dennis, managing director of mobile health at Medidata Solutions Inc., which consults with companies on ways to improve clinical trials, tells Bloomberg.

  To date, the National Institutes of Health reports there have been at least 299 clinical trials using wearable technology to track the effects of drugs on participants.

  In one specific case, GlaxoSmithKline followed the movements of 25 patients with the muscular neurodegenerative condition Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.

  Under the trial, the participants were given a small, rectangular monitor that sticks to their chests to measure heart rate, walking steps and elevation gain.

  The data collected from the device – which is made by Finnish medical technology company Mega Electronics Ltd. – is sent to Glaxo on a secure server to be used in research for potential treatments of the disease.

  Bloomberg reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs is gearing up to run a clinical trial using similar wearables to monitor veterans with back pain.

  While the agency hasn’t chosen a specific tracker for the trial, they plan to record the veterans’ steps and use the information – along with patients’ personal pain assessments – to better personalize treatment plans.

  Tech companies specializing in wearable technologies have taken notice of the medical field’s use of such products, even working to develop new devices for better monitoring, Bloomberg reports.

  MC10 Inc. created a device called the “biostamp,” modeled after a Band-Aid but equipped with flexible sensors and circuits. While the device isn’t currently being used in trials, executives with the tech company say they have partnered with several pharmaceutical companies with other trackers.

  Big Pharma Hands Out Fitbits to Collect Better Personal Data [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSales Of Actual Pumpkins Down Amid Pumpkin Spice-Flavored Crazer

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  (ash™)

  By now you’d have to be living under a rock where everything smells like dirt and wet rocks not to be aware of the annual pumpkin spice frenzy that overtakes menus across the land every fall. But while it’s not shocking to hear that things that are flavored to taste like pumpkin and/or the spices we love — allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. — are selling like pumpkin spice hotcakes, it’s kind of sad to learn that sales of actual pumpkins are sliding.

  In a recent report from Nielsen, the data shows that the pumpkin flavor trend is nowhere near stopping, and has become a staple of the autumn season — 37% of American consumers bought a pumpkin-flavored product in 2014, accounting for $361 million in sales just in 2014, which is a 79% boost from 2011.

  The hottest sellers on the pumpkin market include pie filling ($134,786,923 in sales last year), pumpkin cream ($47,907,993) and pumpkin coffee ($32,655,566). Again, this isn’t news — everywhere you turn these days there’s pumpkin pet food, pumpkin gum, pumpkin spice Twinkies, pumpkin milk and even pumpkin dish soap.

  Fresh pumpkins are being left out of the fad fun, however, with sales declining every year in 2011, 2013 and 2014, Nielsen reports, accounting for 8.6 million fewer pumpkins going home from the pumpkin patch with a proud new owner.

  GET READY FOR THE GREAT PUMPKIN INVASION [Nielsen]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist