Due to new regulations, window covering manufacturers have banned corded window blinds for children.
By the end of the year, Americans will only see standard models of window blinds.
Child safety advocates have been pushing manufacturers to ban window blinds with cords for years, as noted in a 2015 investigation by ABC News that highlighted numerous child deaths involving the potentially hazardous products.
The Window Covering Manufacturers Association worked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to develop a new industry standard that requires most window covering products sold in the United States and Canada to be cordless or have short cords.
The industry group said that people who still need corded blinds, such as the elderly and those with disabilities, will be able to custom order them, even if they are made safer under the new standard.
All companies who manufacture, distribute, or sell window coverings in the U.S. must comply with the voluntary safety standard or face enforcement action by the CPSC and/or be open to legal action if non- compliant products are sold.
Safety advocates have warned about the dangers of window blind cords for a long time.There were an estimated 16,827 window blind–related injuries among children younger than 6 treated in emergency departments in the United States from 1990 to 2015.According to the study, at least 255 children died in entanglement accidents, accounting for 11.9 percent of all cases.
The window blind industry had argued that educating consumers rather than banning corded blinds was the way to go, but an ABC News investigation found mixed messages from retailers selling the blinds.The risk of strangulation was often overlooked.