Heated jackets

A heated jacket keeps you warm from a rechargeable battery.

Choosing one

Electrical Safety First advises buying a battery pack and its charger from a reputable retailer. A third party seller online may sell one that has not passed all the necessary safety checks, it says.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) publishes a list of product safety alerts, reports and recalls. In May 2025 it reported a heated jacket sold online as a serious fire risk. It found the jacket's lithium-ion battery pack poorly built, without enough protection against thermal runaway, where a battery overheats out of control. OPSS recommended that owners stop using it at once and contact the distributor they bought it from.

Fabric labels follow a law of their own. GOV.UK's guidance on textile labels, for England, Scotland and Wales, requires the fibres to be listed. A jacket made of parts in different fibres has to list each part.

Charging the battery

London Fire Brigade has charging tips, written for phones, tablets and other mobile devices:

• Use the charger that came with it. If you need a replacement, choose a branded, genuine one from a supplier you trust.
• Avoid storing, using or charging batteries in very high or very low temperatures.
• Don't leave a battery on charge once it is full.
• Never cover a charger or a device while it charges.

Electrical Safety First's advice on battery packs adds two more points. Don't charge them overnight or while you are out of the house. Charge them uncovered, somewhere with good air flow, and unplug them when they are done.

If something seems wrong

If a battery pack is too hot to handle, Electrical Safety First says to stop using it, unplug it from the charger and ask the manufacturer for advice. Unplug at once if you notice odd smells, sparks, smoke, swelling, cracks or damage while it charges, and contact the retailer or manufacturer.

London Fire Brigade adds that a swelling battery should not be opened or tampered with.

Old batteries

OPSS says lithium-ion batteries should not go in normal household waste. For local sites that accept them, it points to GOV.UK's household waste page, which sends you to your council's website.

Useful links

• Product safety alerts, reports and recalls (OPSS, GOV.UK)
• Product safety report on a heated jacket, May 2025 (OPSS, GOV.UK)
• Textile labelling (Department for Business and Trade, GOV.UK)
• Dispose of household waste (GOV.UK)
• Batteries and chargers (London Fire Brigade)
• Power banks and portable chargers (Electrical Safety First)