The following information is provided by the Window Covering Manufacturers Association:
Window Covering Manufacturers Association Announces Historic New Window Covering Safety Standard
New York, NY (January 12, 2018)–The Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) announced today the approval of a new window covering safety standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) that will require a vast majority of window covering products sold in the United States and Canada to be cordless or have inaccessible or short cords. The new safety standard, ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018, strengthens window-covering safety by requiring that all stock products sold in stores and online—which account for more than 80 percent of all window covering products sold in the U.S. and Canada—to be cordless or have inaccessible cords.
WCMA previously announced that the compliance date for the new standard would be one year after ANSI approval, which would be January 9, 2019. However, at the request of CPSC Chairman, Ann Marie Buerkle, who asked WCMA to move up the compliance date, WCMA is advising all companies selling window covering products in the U.S. and Canada that the compliance date of the new standard is December 15, 2018, although many companies will likely begin introducing new products based on the new standard earlier in the year.
The following information was provided by the U.S. Consumer of Product Safety Commission:
Consumer Product Safety Alert
FROM THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20207
Children Can Strangle in Window Covering Cords
In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) announced recalls to repair horizontal window blinds to prevent the risk of strangulation to young children. The recalls involved millions of window blinds with pull cords and inner cords that can form a loop and cause strangulation. From 1991 to 2000, CPSC received reports of 160 strangulations involving cords on window blinds: 140 strangulations involved the outer pull cords, and 20 involved the inner cords that run through the blind slats.
