Product Recall

After entanglements, three more companies recall shades and blinds

Almost one million roman shades and roller blinds were recalled today after three more children became entangled in the cords. Fortunately, the children were discovered before they were further harmed—unlike three other children who strangled on the cords of blinds and died. After those incidents 5.5 million shades were recalled.

In the recent incidents,  a 2-year-old boy climbed on a toy chest to look out a window and became entangled in the inner cords of a roman shade. His parents removed the cord which left a temporary red mark around his neck. A 20-month-old boy became entangled in the inner cord from a roman shade and was rescued when his grandfather heard his cries. In the third case, the mother of a 3-year-old boy found him crying with a cord mark that ran ear to ear on the front of his neck. Apparently, he was able to free himself after becoming entangled in the inner cord.

All three cases underscore the dangers of window coverings with dangling cords or chains. The hazard of cords on blinds has been well known for many years and recently the Consumer Product Safety Commission has become more aggressive about announcing recalls. Recalled today were:

• 533,000 IKEA roller blinds sold at IKEA stores nationwide from July 2005 through July 2009 for between $10 and $55.
• 364,000 Louis Hornick & Co. roman shades sold at Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide and online at www.bedbathandbeyond.com from August 2007 through September 2009 for between $40 and $130.
• 90,000 faux suede roman shades sold at Hanover Direct/Domestications and online at www.domestications.com and through catalog sales nationwide from January 2004 through December 2008 for between $20 and $40.