Help & information

Safety & Allergy Information

Read before you unwrap

Everything worth knowing before a capybara reaches anyone's hands. Keep it in mind every time you use one. This page forms part of our Terms & Conditions.

Read this first

  • Ages 14 and over. Our plush are sold as collectibles for ages 14 and up. They are not tested children's toys, and no age grading or toy-safety certification has been issued for them by us or by their makers.
  • WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD — Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs. This warning applies to any model containing micro-beads, sewn-on details or removable accessories. Where it applies to an item, you will find it on that item's product page. None of our plush is a tested children's toy, so keep every model away from babies, toddlers and pets.
  • Do not cut or open a plush. The fibre filling and the micro-beads inside are not meant to be handled loose, breathed in, or put in a mouth.
  • Keep away from open flame. We hold no flammability testing for our plush. Synthetic fabric and filling can catch fire and melt.
  • Stop using it immediately if a seam opens or if your skin becomes red, itchy or sore.

What our plush are made of

Synthetic plush fabric — normally polyester — over a polyester fibre filling, with textile dyes. Depending on the model, a piece may also contain:

Micro-beadsHeld in an inner pouch, to give a weighted capybara its weight.
Embroidered or moulded plastic featuresSuch as eyes and nose.
Sewn-on details or removable accessoriesHats, scarves and the like, depending on the model.

Exact materials vary from model to model and are stated on the product page where we have been able to confirm them. If you need to know what is in one specific item before you order, contact us and we will tell you what we know about that item — including when the answer is that we do not know yet.

We do not market our plush as latex-free, fragrance-free or hypoallergenic, and we make no such claim. We hold no flammability, chemical or toy-safety testing for them.

Skin contact, irritation and allergic reactions

A plush is held against the skin for long stretches at a time, and soft goods collect dust as they age.

Prolonged contact with synthetic fibres, with textile dyes, or with dust held in the pile can cause redness, itching, dryness or a rash in sensitive people, and in rare cases an allergic contact reaction.

Do not use our products if…

…you, or someone in your care, has a known sensitivity to polyester or other synthetic fibres, to textile dyes, or to dust.

To reduce the risk:

  • Air a new capybara for a day before keeping it close.
  • Do not rest one against broken, irritated or freshly shaved skin.
  • Keep it out of eyes and away from the face of anyone with a dust sensitivity.
  • Surface-clean it from time to time and let it dry fully, so dust does not build up in the pile.
  • Wash your hands after handling a plush that has been stored for a long time.

If a skin reaction happens

  • 1
    StopStop using it straight away and put it out of reach.
  • 2
    WashWash the area with mild soap and lukewarm water. Do not scrub.
  • 3
    Get adviceSeek medical advice. Call emergency services on 911 immediately for any breathing difficulty or swelling of the face or mouth.

Afterwards, please let us know. We log every safety report we receive and look into it.

Heat, cold, flame and storage

Never

  • On a radiator, in a tumble dryer, on a sunny windowsill, or in a parked car in the sun.
  • Near open flames, candles, cigarettes, heaters or stoves — we hold no flammability testing, and synthetic fabric and filling can catch fire and melt.
  • Put away damp. Mould grows in the filling, where you cannot see it.

Instead

  • Store at normal room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and dry.
  • Dry flat in open air after any cleaning, all the way through.

Direct heat can damage the pile permanently, and strong sunlight fades textile dyes.

If a seam opens

A seam that has been over-stretched, caught on something sharp, or pulled at repeatedly can split.

  • 1
    Move it awayTake it away from children and pets immediately — loose micro-beads and fibre fill are a choking and inhalation hazard.
  • 2
    Collect the beadsGather any that have escaped and dispose of them with household waste. Do not vacuum them up in a room where a child is playing.
  • 3
    Protect eyes and mouthsIf contents get into an eye, rinse with clean water for several minutes and seek medical advice.
  • 4
    If someone has swallowed oneIf someone is choking, cannot breathe or is coughing hard, call 911 immediately. If a bead or filling has been swallowed and the person is breathing normally, seek medical advice, or call Poison Help on 1-800-222-1222.
  • 5
    Retire itStop using it. A small opening tends to widen quickly with normal handling.

If the item is new or faulty

Contact us before attempting any repair — repairing an item yourself affects what we can do for you. We will arrange a return at our cost (a prepaid label, or we reimburse standard tracked postage against your receipt) and replace or refund the item. Our returns request window is 14 days from delivery; this does not affect your statutory rights for faulty goods.

Weighted capybaras

A weighted capybara carries micro-beads in an inner pouch. Two things follow from that.

It is comfort, not treatment

Our products are not medical devices and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. If you have a health concern, please speak to a qualified professional.

Use it on your lap or beside you, not over your face or chest. Do not sleep with it on you, and do not leave it with anyone who cannot move it off themselves.

Never machine wash one

A soaked bead pouch can split and release micro-beads, machine washing can shift the beads inside the pouch and stress the pouch seam, and a soaked filling takes days to dry through.

Surface-clean it instead.

Care and everyday use

  • Check the care label on the item first and follow it for cleaning — but the safety rules on this page (never machine wash a weighted capybara) always apply.
  • Surface-clean with cool water and a little mild soap, then brush the pile back in one direction while it is still damp.
  • Dry flat in open air, away from direct heat. Make sure the plush is completely dry all the way through before you use it, heat it or put it away.
  • Do not use solvents, bleach, alcohol gel or abrasive cleaners on plush fabric.
  • Keep away from sharp nails, jewellery, pets and rough surfaces.
  • Look a capybara over from time to time and retire it once the fabric is worn through, a seam keeps reopening, or a plastic part has cracked.
  • Remove and safely discard all packaging before handing one over. Plastic wrap, bags, ties and tag fasteners are a suffocation and choking hazard, are not part of the toy, and must be kept away from children and pets.

Something wrong with a product?

Tell us as soon as possible and write SAFETY in the subject line. We take every safety report seriously and we answer them ourselves. Keep the capybara and its packaging until we have finished with your case — do not throw it away and do not post it back until we ask you to.

Report a product concern →

Disclaimer and limitation of liability

Our products are sold as collectible plush toys for ages 14 and over. They are not tested children's toys, not medical devices, not teethers, chew toys, pet toys or bath toys, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.

You are responsible for using our products as described on this page, on the product page, and in any instructions supplied with the item, and for supervising anyone in your care who uses them.

What we do not accept liability for

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, neither Capybara Plush nor Margaux Kettner (entrepreneur individuel) accepts liability for any injury, burn, choking, skin reaction, allergic reaction, irritation, illness, damage or loss arising from: use of a product by anyone under the age of 14, or by a person who by reason of age or capacity cannot follow the warnings on the product page; use of a product that has been cut, pierced, repaired or otherwise altered, or machine-washed or tumble-dried where the product page states that the item should be surface-cleaned; exposure to fibre fill or micro-beads released from a product whose seams have opened; continued use after a seam has opened or any reaction has appeared; use in any way not described on this page; or any indirect, incidental or consequential loss of any kind.

Where our liability cannot lawfully be excluded, it is limited to the price you paid for the product concerned, except in the case of death or personal injury caused by our negligence, and except where applicable law does not permit such a limit.

Your rights are not affected

Nothing on this page removes or limits any right you have under applicable consumer protection law, including your statutory rights in respect of products that are faulty, unsafe or not as described. Nothing on this page excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

This page is provided in good faith for general guidance. It is not medical advice. If you have a health concern, speak to a qualified professional. Read it together with our Terms & Conditions and our About our Products page.