Personal Injury Lawyers > Personal Injury Blog > Children's Product Safety > CPSC Sets New Consumer Product Safety Rule for Children’s Clothing

Personal Injury Blog

CPSC Sets New Consumer Product Safety Rule for Children’s Clothing

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has finally acted to eliminate the risk of strangulation and choking involving drawstrings and children’s clothing.  This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously to approve a new Children’s Product Safety rule for drawstrings in children’s outerwear.

Los Angeles product liability lawyers have been aware that drawstrings in children’s outerwear can pose a number of product safety hazards.  For instance, the drawstrings may become entangled in other objects like playground equipment or a car door, posing a serious choking hazard to the child.  These drawstrings can also pose a strangulation hazard.  A child may be pulled along or dragged, and suffer injuries in the process.

The agency voted 5-0 to designate certain categories of children’s clothing as substantial product safety hazards.  These products include children’s upper outerwear in sizes 2T through 12 with neck or head drawstrings, and children’s upper outerwear in sizes 2T through 16 with waist or bottom drawstrings.  These products are substantial product safety hazards.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been several reports of injuries caused to children from drawstrings in outerwear.  The agency has received at least 26 reports of children who died in these accidents.  These fatalities occurred when the drawstring on the child’s garment got entangled on a number of objects, including playground equipment, school bus doors and other objects.

It’s not just neck and head drawstrings that can get caught on equipment, and pose a serious risk of choking or pulling a child.  Waist or bottom drawstrings can also get caught on equipment and pose a serious pulling hazard.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking members of the public to report any incidents involving strangulation, choking or dragging involving drawstrings to the agency.

This isn’t the first time that the agency has addressed the problem of strangulation and dragging involving drawstrings.  In 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines that were also included in an industry standard.  Since the standards were introduced in 1997, the number of drawstring-related incidents involving strangulation and dragging has decreased sharply.  Fewer children now become entangled in drawstrings in jackets, sweatshirts and hoodies.

Since the new standards, fatal accidents involving drawstrings have decreased by as much as 75%.  Deaths associated with waist or bottom drawstrings have dropped 100%.  However, in spite of these substantial declines, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that the number of recalls involving children’s outerwear drawstrings have not declined as much as hoped.  Between 2006 and 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced 155 recalls for children’s outerwear with drawstrings.

The Consumer Product Safety Cushion has been focusing strongly on children’s product safety since the passing of the Consumer Product Safety Implement Act of 2008.  That piece of legislation empowered the Consumer Product Safety Commission to act quicker to force companies to announce recalls in the case of dangerous children’s products.

 

 

---