Civil Penalties for Failure to Report Drawstrings
The CPSC announced earlier this month that nine firms had agreed to pay approximately $355,000 in civil penalties for failing to report drawstrings in children's outwear.
The penalties settle allegations that the firms knowingly failed to report to the CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, that their children’s hooded sweatshirts, jackets, or sweaters were sold with drawstrings at the hood and neck.
In 1996 CPSC issued a notice advising parents to purchase clothing that uses methods other than draw strings to close the hood of a jacket and sweatshirt, such as velcro or snaps. This is due to the high likelihood that the drawstring can get caught on something leading to a potential choking hazard. Read the notice. The notice also called on manufactureres to make sure they adhered to the voluntary guidelines.
Manufacturers and retailers should also be aware of the hazards, and should be sure garments they manufacture and sell conform to the voluntary standard.
In May 2006 the CPSC announced that drawstrings in children's outerwear and sweatshirts at the hood and neck, were considered defective and posed a high risk for injury.
Young children can be seriously injured or killed if the upper outerwear they are wearing catches and snags on other objects. From January 1985 through June 1997, CPSC received reports of 21 deaths and 43 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children’s upper outerwear having drawstrings. The ASTM standard addressing this issue (F-1816) took effect in June 1997. In the period since, we have seen a marked decrease in fatalities and incidents. We believe that many of the remaining injuries and deaths would be prevented if all children’s upper outerwear met the requirement of the ASTM standard.
Inasmuch as the ASTM standard has been in place for several years, the CPSC Office of Compliance staff considers children’s upper outerwear with drawstrings at the hood or neck area to be defective and to present a substantial risk of injury to young children under section 15(c) of the FSHA, 15 U.S.C. § 1274(c). Should the staff encounter such products, it will seek a recall of these products. There is no persuasive reason for children’s upper outerwear to be manufactured with drawstrings at the hood and neck area since products without these drawstrings have been on the market for many years.
Section 15(b) of the CPSA, 15 U.S.C. § 2064(b), requires every manufacturer (importer), distributor, and retailer of consumer products to report immediately to the Commission when it obtains information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product distributed in commerce contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. The statute also provides for the imposition of civil penalties for failing to report the required information.
After obtaining information that supports a claim that a product is defective and can create a substainal risk of injury to the public, can cause serious injury or death, or violates a federal safety standard, it is required that manufacturers, distributors and retailers report it to the CPSC within 24 hours.
