IKEA will no longer sell window blinds with cords in its U.S. stores, the company announced Thursday, citing research that shows one child dies every month by strangulation from such cords.
“Product safety is the highest priority for IKEA, which is why we have been working to develop alternative solutions to exposed cords in window coverings. In 2012, IKEA made the commitment to only offer window blinds and coverings with no or non-accessible cords by January of 2016, and we’re pleased to be able to announce that we’ve met this commitment,” Heather Spatz, IKEA US country sales manager, said in a
release.
In May, Elliott Kaye, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said he hoped more companies would push forward to remove corded windows blinds, just as IKEA and Target had promised to do.
"I have spoken with far too many parents who suffered the unspeakable loss of their child from this hidden hazard," Kaye said on the
CPSC website. "Having a new label that better informs parents about blinds and shades that are safer for children is a positive step, but it should be coupled with a real effort to move away, as Target and IKEA are doing, from the sale of products that are known to strangle children."
IKEA said it will remove corded window blinds from its stores globally by Jan. 1, 2016.
The Window Blind Safety organization tweeted its approval of IKEA's decision:
That organization shares information online about the dangers of corded window blinds.
"He was so severe that he was on a ventilator at the local emergency room. They did not expect us to make it to the children's hospital," a mother whose son was devastatingly injured by a window blind cord shared on YouTube.
October is Window Covering Safety Month.
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