This just came in from Washington Post. Apparently there was a recent recall of roman shades and roll up blinds there were manufactured by Whole Space Industries LTD and imported by Meijer and they were being sold at a variety of home décor retail stores nationwide in the US. The blinds were believed to have to been made in the Far Eastern country in Asia and they were manufactured between March last year and Sept this year. The report says that around a quarter of million blinds and shades have been recalled so far.
Why were they being recalled? Apparently there was imminent danger of the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the back of the roman shades. So a young child’s neck could be caught in between especially when he or she pulls it and wraps it around his neck. Similarly for roll up blinds there was a problem with the lifting loops where the child’s neck can be caught in between the loop and the roll up blinds.
The recall is seen to be just a safety precaution and it is not a knee jerk reaction to any incident. So far there have not been any reported cases of young children who were hurt from these blinds. However it is always wise for parents and care givers to take the precautionary safety measures on the blinds, shades and curtains that they have at home. It’s a good practice not to leave any cords dangling or within reach of your young child. Better still is you can install window treatments that do not have all these things like plantation shutters.
For more information on safety tips and recommendations for window coverings you can contact Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) if you live in the US. WCSC is a coalition of US manufacturers, retailers and importers and it was setup in 1994 with the purpose of educating American consumers about window coverings safety.