The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling all Roman-style shades and roll up blinds after reports of babies and toddlers dying from strangulation. The CPSC said the product recall affects more than 50 million Roman shades and rollup blinds, which have cords that can get caught around children's necks. 25 million Roman shades were recalled.
CPSC said 5 children have died of strangulation and 16 others have been nearly strangled since 2006 because of the Roman shades, which pose a problem because of space between the inner cord and the shade fabric. The recall affects 25 million Roman shades. Roll-up blinds have a large loop at the end of the cord that can strangle young children, the CPSC said, adding that 3 children have died from the roll-up blinds' hazard since 2000. The recall affects 27 million roll-up blinds. The commission said about 5 million Roman shades and 3 million roll-up blinds are sold each year.
CPSC said it is working with the Window Covering Safety Council, an industry trade group, to provide repair kits for Roman shades and roll-up blinds sold at Massachusetts's retailers such as Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Pottery Barn and Ace Hardware. The repair will eliminate the cord from the Roman shades and instead provide rings for consumers to install. Shade owners will have to manually lift the rings to raise the shade. The kit will provide a device for roll-up blinds that will force the cord to separate into 2 pieces if a force equal to a baby's head is applied. The CPSC said the cord cannot be eliminated from the design of the roll-up treatment because it would strip its functionality.
For a free repair kit, consumers can contact the Window Covering Safety Council at www.windowcoverings.org or 800-506-4636.
