Two recalls of children’s clothing have been implemented over dangerous drawstrings, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced.
As we’ve long explained, federal law requires manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to immediately, ”within 24 hours,” advise the CPSC after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard; creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death; or fails to comply with any consumer product safety rule or any other rule, regulation, standard, or ban enforced by CPSC.
In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines, which were incorporated into an industry voluntary standard in 1997, to help prevent children from strangling or becoming entangled on drawstrings in outerwear garments, such as jackets or sweatshirts. In 2006, CPSC’s Office of Compliance announced that children’s upper outerwear with drawstrings at the hood or neck would be regarded as defective and presented a substantial risk of injury to young children. Since the industry standard was introduced, fatal incidents involving garments with drawstrings through the neck or hood have decreased by 75%, and fatalities associated with drawstrings through the waist or bottom have dropped 100%. Sadly, despite the implementation of the standard, the guidelines are too often ignored by manufacturers and, from 2006 through 2010, the agency participated in 115 recalls for noncomplying products with drawstrings.
The following two recalls are the latest in this trend of noncompliance.
PUMA USA V-Konstruct Training Jacket with Pockets
The 5,000 recalled PUMA USA V-Konstruct Training Jacket with Pockets were manufactured in Vietnam, Malaysia, and China; imported by PUMA North America, Inc., of Westford, Massachusetts; and sold at clothing retail stores, nationwide and online, from January 2007 through January 2012 for $12-$55.
The jacket is constructed with a drawstring at the waist that has toggles and is not stitched to the back of the jacket. The drawstring could become snagged or caught in small spaces or vehicle doors and poses an entanglement hazard.
The USA V-Konstruct Training Jacket with Pockets recall includes model numbers 65110201, 65110202, 65110203, 65110204, and 65110205, which are printed on the white care label stitched into a side seam toward the bottom of the jacket. The model numbers appear to the right of the words “(PVC Free)” and below the words “ART.NO.” The recalled jackets have a short collar, full-length zipper, two pockets, a mesh panel along the back of the shoulders and under the sleeves, and an elastic cord with toggles at the waist. The PUMA logo can be found on the upper-right chest and left sleeve. The jackets were sold in YS (youth small), YM (youth medium), and YL (youth large) and in red/black, green/black, blue/black, navy/gray, and black/gray.
Consumers are advised to stop using these recalled youth jackets immediately and return them to the retailer for a full refund. PUMA North America Inc. can be reached, toll-free, at 1.855.351.7489 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday; at the company’s website at www.puma.com; or by email to productissue@puma.com.
“Me Jane” and “B-Hip Kids by Me Jane” Girl’s Jackets with Faux Fur Trim
This recall involves about 13,000 “Me Jane” and “B-Hip Kids by Me Jane” girls’ jackets with faux fur trim, which were manufactured in China; imported by Louise Paris Ltd., of New York, New York; and sold at Ross Stores, Inc., nationwide, from November 2011 through January 2012 for about $20.
The recalled jackets have drawstrings at the waist that could become snagged or caught in small spaces or vehicle doors and pose an entanglement hazard to young children.
This recall involves two girls’ polyfill jackets with faux-fur trim around the hoods and drawstrings at the waist, which were sold under the labels “Me Jane Kids” or “B-Hip Kids by Me Jane.” Labels bearing these names are found at the back neck of the garments. The jackets were sold in youth sizes 4- 6X and 7-16 and were also labeled by sizes S, M, L. One style labeled “Me Jane Kids” is fleece with front drawstrings with toggles at the ends was sold in green, charcoal grey, and black. Other “Me Jane Kids” or “B-Hip Kids by Me Jane” brand labeled bubble jackets have drawstrings on the back, no toggles and were sold in purple, black, pink, coffee, and cream.
Consumers are advised to immediately remove the drawstrings from the jackets to eliminate the hazard and contact Louise Paris for instructions on how to receive a full refund. Louise Paris can be reached, toll-free, at 1.877.537.7517 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or by email to complaints@louiseparis.com.
