Washington, DC – A new version of the window covering voluntary standard has been approved that, for the first time, will require some window coverings to be cordless. The standard requires window coverings sold as stock products (products sold “as is” in terms of color, design features, size) to be free of dangerous accessible cords. This is an important step forward in reducing the number of dangerous corded products put into the market.

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Washington, D.C. – A recently published article in the Journal of Pediatrics entitled, “Pediatric Injuries Related to Window Blind, Shades, and Cords” found 300 children younger than 6 years of age strangled to death in window blind cords from 1990 to 2015. During this same time frame, an estimated 2,000 children were treated for entanglement injuries caused by window cords. In some cases, the injuries suffered as a result of a blind cord tangling around the child’s neck were so severe that these children now require 24-hour daily nursing care.

“Window covering deaths and injuries happen when parents cook dinner, fold laundry, aid other children or while parents think kids are asleep. Designing the hazard out of products and changing the consumer’s mindset about window covering safety is the only way these deaths and injuries will end,” stated Linda Kaiser, President of Parents for Window Blind Safety.

The Window Coverings Manufacturer’s Association has had a voluntary standard addressing window coverings since 1996. So why do these entanglement deaths and injuries keep happening? The main reason is that the voluntary standard allowed dangerous, accessible cords that can strangle infants and young children.

“The voluntary standard for window coverings has failed for over two decades, to significantly reduce or eliminate the strangulation hazard posed by window coverings. The AAP study confirms that too many children are being harmed by these cords,” stated Rachel Weintraub, Legislative Director and general counsel with Consumer Federation of America.

Due to the failure of the voluntary standard to address the strangulation hazard, Consumer Federation of America, Parents for Window Blinds and Safety and other groups petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue an effective mandatory standard to address the risks that corded window coverings pose to children. In response, and after years of work by safety advocates and the CPSC, the Window Covering Manufacturer’s Association (WCMA) has agreed to revise its standard so that dangerous, accessible cords are no longer permitted on “stock” products.

According to Dr. Carol Pollack-Nelson, a human factors psychologist and one of the petitioners, “while eliminating dangerous cords on stock products is a step in the right direction, consumers should be warned that the new voluntary standard won’t eliminate the strangulation risk on all blinds due to limitations and potential loop holes in the standard:”

1. The standard still permits “custom” products (i.e., products manufactured after a consumer order) to be made with cords that can strangle children. According to WCMA, custom products account for 20% of the market. This percentage projection could increase depending on the consumer demand for cords.
2. Consumers typically believe cords are safe as long as they are kept out of reach by wrapping around a cord “cleat” or putting up on top of the valence. While this may seem like a safe strategy, cases in the study reveal dozens of young children strangled in a cord that was believed to be placed out of reach but was accessed by children using various objects or avenues.
3. Millions of window blinds with dangerous cords currently exist in consumers’ homes (and will likely remain for at least a decade or two until the blinds are replaced because in most cases, blinds with dangerous cords have not been recalled.
4. Voluntary standards are not equivalent to mandatory standards. Voluntary standards are not enforceable by the CPSC and there are no requirements to test window coverings to ensure that they meet the voluntary standard before being put into the market.
5. Enforcement of products sold online will be difficult and this means that on-line retailers may continue selling window coverings with dangerous cords. If corded products are less expensive than cordless, consumers who are unaware of the entanglement danger are likely to purchase the less expensive corded blinds.
6. Window coverings purchased for large scale housing such as condos, apartment buildings can be ordered as “custom” products and skirt the voluntary standard’s cordless requirement which only applies to “stock” products.

“If it was your child, would you want to change these products? Children are so smart, they can get to chains tied up,” said Brende Owen Bullard of Cleburne Texas, mother of Lawson who passed away December 10th, 2016. “Products should have safety built-in rather than relying on consumers to consistently check to see if products are safe for kids.”

How Can I Identify Safe Window Coverings for My Family?

Technology has come a long way over the past decade for cordless window coverings. Linda Kaiser, President of Parents for Window Blind Safety advises consumers seeking safe blinds to look for the following:

• Window coverings with no outer cords and tight inner cords.
• Cordless products
• Products carrying the Parents for Window Blind Safety Seal of Approval which is awarded to cordless products that are Lab Tested, Mom Approved.

The Consumer Federation of America is a national organization of more than 250 nonprofit consumer groups that was founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.

Parents for Window Blind Safety is a nonprofit organization founded by Matt and Linda Kaiser. PFWBS was created to support parents whose children have been seriously injured or killed by dangerous cords, to educate consumers about the dangers of accessible window covering cords in homes, daycare facilities, and military housing, to help create safer standards in the industry, to encourage innovation of safer products in the industry, and to test window coverings products for safety. www.parentsforwindowblindsafety.org

Carol Pollack Nelson, Ph.D. is a Human Factors Psychologist specializing in consumer product safety. She is an advisor to all stakeholders including manufacturers, retailers, test laboratories, government agencies, and consumer organizations. She previously served as an in-house expert for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in the Human Factors Division.

St. Louis – ST. LOUIS (PRWEB) Parents for Window Blind Safety applauds Health Canada for their move forward on the possibility of creating the strongest safety standard worldwide for window covering products.

Near the end of October 2016, the Minister of Health announced that Health Canada was developing new regulations Minister of Health Announces Proposed Regulation for corded window covering products to prohibit products that pose a strangulation risk to children. In a recent mailing to stakeholders, Health Canada explained the amendments that would be proposed to window covering products sold in Canada.

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In a recent twenty-nine day period, four children strangled to death from cords on a window covering: a 4-year-old boy, in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, on November 12, 2016; a 4-year-old girl in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 29, 2016; a 4-year-old girl in League City, Texas, on December 7, 2016; and a 3-year-old boy in Cleburne, Texas, on December 10, 2016. Each of these children died after the cord of a window covering strangled them. In 2016, we are aware of a total of 11 window cord strangulation deaths. These most recent tragic incidents contribute to the already long list of 293 deaths and serious injuries associated with these products between 1996 and 2012.

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St. Louis – As families celebrate the holiday season, two families are mourning the losses of their young children who strangled in dangerous window blind cords. Parents for Window Blind Safety (PFWBS) warns consumers that ANY accessible outer cords on window coverings – including pull and tilt cords, and also on loose inner cords – can strangle children who play near the window.

“Consumers must be aware that even newly purchased window coverings – including those with a label indicating compliance with the ANSI industry safety standard – can cause strangulation if they have any accessible outer cords,” stated Linda Kaiser, Founder and President of Parents for Window Blind Safety. “The latest two strangulation deaths both involved products that complied with the industry standard.”

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In July 2016, a 2 year old girl died when she hung on the cord of a horizontal blind that was manufactured in 2015 and passed the most recent “stringent national safety standard,” drafted by the industry. In addition, the child’s mother had wrapped the pull cord around a cord cleat in an effort to keep it out of reach. However, her child’s neck got caught in the cord while mom believed she was napping.

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On April 16, the online publication FairWarning published a disturbing investigative expose describing the staggering number of young children killed or maimed by window blind cords: Over the past three decades, at least 332 children — most younger than age 2 — have died and 165 have been injured due to strangulation by these dangerous products. Some of the injured children have suffered permanent brain injury or paralysis, requiring lifelong care.

Read the full article on the Huffington Post.

In reality, some industries have used the system to put off regulatory action for years while dangerous products maim and kill. The CPSC has the power to impose mandatory rules when it thinks the voluntary standards are inadequate. Critics say the time for such action with window blinds passed long ago, and that the agency has failed the public by leaving the industry to its own devices.