Statistics

*All information is taken from Freedom of Information Acts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission database and website and the Window Covering Safety Council website.

Before the November 2000 recall (retrofit) program for inner cord strangulation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission had documented at least 16 inner cord strangulations. The first being reported in the late 1970's. No mandatory safety standard exists today for inner cord stoppers to be installed on any corded window treatments.

Over 768* children have died from corded window treatments since 1980

The Consumer Product Safety Commission standards on corded window treatments are voluntary not mandatory. This means that the window covering industry is not forced to comply with ANY safety standards set by the CPSC or ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

There is NO safe corded window treatment on the market today.

Daycare's are not inspected for safety of corded window treatments. Children have died in daycare's because of corded window treatments

Children have also died in government housing and Section 8 housing and military housing because of corded window treatments.

Separate tassels in NO WAY make the blinds any safer. Children have strangled to death by one single cord wrapped around the neck.

Parents have been accused of killing their child because police detectives and officials were unaware of all the 5 ways a child can died from window blinds or corded window treatments. (And in some instances had their other children taken from them till they were 'proved fit'.)

There are window blinds and corded window treatments being sold at department stores, hardware stores and discount stores that do not have the inner cord stoppers on the products. I have purchased these products at well known franchise retail stores across the USA. This means for 3 years consumers have been purchasing window blinds that, they THINK, are safe because they think they are brand new blinds. If you look at the inside of the head rail there is a sticker. If it dates before 2001, you have and bought a defective recalled product with no inner cord stoppers attached to them. Not that the inner cord stoppers will keep your child safe!

The CPSC and the WCSC websites state that window blinds purchased after 2001 are safe with all safety features attached. What they do not tell you is that the blinds are not 100% safe and can still kill children. Also as stated above, not all stores are selling "New" safe window treatment but trying to get rid of old window blinds that were recalled.

In 1981 the Consumer Product Safety Commission was fully aware of at least 41 strangulation deaths by looped pull cords. No mandatory standard exists today for loops in the pull cords.

Cord joiners/beads are loops in the pull cords but approved by ANSI and the Window Covering Safety Council which both have a safety standard that require no loops in the pull cords.

A child dies every 2 weeks from corded window treatments.

The Window Covering Safety Council states that 77% of Americans know about inner cord strangulation. http://www.windowcoverings.org/50_013.html
I firmly disagree. 77% of Americans do NOT know about inner cord strangulation. The study conducted was a telephone survey that only included 1000 opinions. (I would love to conduct my own study.)

There have been documented cases of children dying from climbing up and getting the cords down from the cleats or hooks while the caregiver was doing household chores or aiding another child, thinking the room the child was in was safe. These children are usually ages 2 and up. Some websites may suggest removing furniture from underneath the corded window treatment. Most children over the age of 2 can place ANY furniture or toy back under the window to reach the cords that are tied up!

Both recalls, one in 1995 and one in 2000, have FAILED to reduce the number of deaths per year.

By December 2003, 16 children have been reported strangled to death in 2003, the average age this year is 4 years old!(Makes you wonder how many went unreported huh?)

Please, save a child today by removing the corded window treatments from your home. Pass this information on to a friend or a loved one and help us educate the truth about the window covering industry.

*6/4/97 Journal of the American Medical Association, 182 deaths from 1981 - 1995 in U.S. alone, maybe as many as 359 fatalities w/ 50% unreported. Reiterated in an A.M.A. Press Release of 6/3/97. As of August 2004, 384 deaths reported w/50% unreported totals the estimated deaths at 768.

*All information is taken from Freedom of Information Acts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission database and website and the Window Covering Safety Council website.

I would love to have some way of pulling this all together as a world wide number and show how we need to all pull together and keep these children from dying from ignorance!


I have been told knowledge is power. If this the case, I feel it is important to empower you with this knowledge you need to keep your children safe I have collected several links to sights of people that have missed that opportunity. I am sure you will find this information shocking as I know I have. Please email me if you would like more!!!!