Strangulation Hazard Prompts Recall of IKEA’s Roman Blinds
IKEA Home Furnishings issued a voluntary recall of its IRIS and ALVINE Roman blinds after the strangulation death of a child. According to a product safety alert issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, IKEA is recalling about 670,000 units in the United States. Close to 5 million units were sold outside the United States.
Officials say strangulations can occur when a child places his or her neck in an exposed inner cord on the back side of the Roman blinds. A 1-year-old girl in Greenwich, Connecticut, died on April 4, 2008 after she became entangled in the inner cord of an IKEA Roman blind and was strangled. The little girl was apparently playing in a portable playpen that was placed under a fully lowered blind.
The recalled products include all sizes of the IRIS and ALVINE Roman blinds in white. The products, manufactured in India, have a sewn-in label at the top edge of the blind with the IKEA logotype, article name, a five-digit supplier number (19799 or 21369) and a four-digit stamp as well as the words “Made in India.” These dangerous and defective products were sold in IKEA stores nationwide from July 2005 through June 2008 for between $7 and $30.
Consumers who own these blinds are asked to stop using them immediately and return them to any IKEA store for a complete refund. Anyone who needs more information about these products or the recall is asked to call IKEA toll-free at 1-888-966-4532 or visit the company’s Web site at www.ikea-usa.com.
This is a serious product defect with grave consequences. We already have one reported death related to these defective IKEA blinds. This is also a good time for parents to check all blinds and shades in their homes. If you find looped pull cords or exposed inner cords in blinds or shades in your home, please replace them with blinds or shades that do not have these exposed cords. You need to put serious thought into purchasing cordless blinds if you have young children at home.
Between 1991 and 2004, CPSC has received reports of about 200 strangulation deaths involving cords and chains on window coverings. For more information on this issue, please visit the Window Covering Safety Council’s Web site.
