Office of Information and Public Affairs | Washington, DC 20207 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Originally issued December 15, 2009 Last Revised October 19, 2011 Release # 10-077 |
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 |
Note: Additional companies have been added to the "List of Voluntary Recalls to Repair Roman Shades and Roll Up Blinds"
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing that multiple firms are recalling millions of units of Window coverings, including Roman shades and roll-up blinds. These window coverings present a serious risk of strangulation to young children.
CPSC has received reports of five deaths and 16 near strangulations in Roman shades since 2006 and three deaths in roll-up blinds since 2001. Strangulations in Roman shades occur when a child places his/her neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the back side of the blind or when a child pulls the cord out and wraps it around his/her neck. Strangulations in roll-up blinds occur when the lifting loop slides off the side of the blind and a child's neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop or if a child places his/her neck between the lifting loop and the roll-up blind material.
The recalled Roman shades and roll up blinds were sold by a variety of manufacturers and retailers, including major discount department stores, home improvement stores and window covering manufacturers and retailers. Remedies vary among firms from repair kits to refunds.
"Parents need to make sure there are no accessible cords on the front, side, or back of their window coverings", said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "Avoid these deadly dangers by getting the repair kit or installing cordless window coverings in all homes where small children live or visit."
To help prevent child strangulation in window coverings, CPSC and the Window Covering Safety Council urge parents and caregivers to follow these guidelines:
Company (link to recall) | Number of Units | Sold At |
---|---|---|
Window Covering Safety Council | All Roman shades (25 million) and Roll-up blinds (27 million) | Retailers nationwide |
Walmart | 500,000 Roman shades 600,000 Roll-up blinds | Walmart stores and other retailers |
JCPenney | More than 2.2 million Roman shades 340 Roll-up blinds | JCPenney |
Lotus and Windoware | 250,000 Roll-up blinds | Ace Hardware and Big Lots |
All Strong Industry | 290,000 Roman shades | Walmart stores and other retailers |
Pottery Barn Stores | 350,000 Roman shades 45,000 Roller shades | Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn, and PBTeens |
International Merchandise | 355,000 Roll-up blinds | Big Lots |
West Elm | 42,000 Roman shades | West Elm's catalog and website |
The Land of Nod | 2,000 Roman shades | Land of Nod Stores |
Louis Hornick | 6,300 Roman shades | Ross stores |
Draper | 1,800 Roman shades | Specialty window covering dealers nationwide |
American Vintage | 1,000 Horizontal blinds | Paramount Window Furnishings and Signature Window Coverings stores in Texas |
Restoration Hardware Baby & Child | 4,600 Roman shades | Restoration Hardware Baby & Child stores and catalog |
Lutron Electronics | 5,000 Roman shades | Specialty Dealers and Expo Design Centers |
Meijer re-announcement | 240,000 Roman shades and Roll-Up blinds 3,200 additional units | Meijer Stores and Meijer.com |
Ethan Allen | 163,000 Roman shades | Ethan Allen Design Centers |
Oriental Furniture | 25,000 Roman shades and Roll-Up blinds | www.orientalfurniture.com, www.amazon.com, www.overstock.com |
Blair | 5,600 Roman shades | Blair and other retail stores in Warren and Grove City, PA, Blair catalogs and website |
IKEA | 3,360,000 Roman shades, Roller Blinds, and Roll-Up blinds | IKEA stores nationwide |
Chicology | 6,200 Roll-Up blinds | Online retailers including Overstock.com, Bestwindowtreatments.com, Bedbathstore.com, Unbeatablesale.com, Bonton.com, Linensource.com, and Solutions.com |
Smith+Noble | 1,160,000 Roman shades and 115,000 roller shades | Smith+Noble online at www.smithandnoble.com and catalog sales nationwide |
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores | 1,800 Roll-Up Blinds | Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores |
Green Mountain Vista | 200,000 Roman shades | Specialty home textile retail shops and mail order companies nationwide |
Hanover Direct/Domestications | 495,000 Roman shades and 28,500 Roller/Roll-up blinds | Hanover Direct/Domestications, the Company Store/Company Kids; online at www.domestications.com and www.thecompanystore.com; and through catalog sales nationwide |
Lowe's | 6 million Roman shades and 5 million roll-up blinds | Lowe's stores and other retail stores; online at www.lowes.com |
Wm. Wright | 48,000 Roman shade make-it-yourself kits | Walmart, Jo-Ann Stores and other specialty textile and variety retail shops |
The Shade Store | 45,000 Roman shades | Five showroom locations and online at www.theshadestore.com |