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SAFETY REPORT

Repair or Replace
Industry and consumer groups urge customers to upgrade to today's products with built-in safety features.

Safety is the issue; and October is the month to emphasize to consumers the importance of upgrading existing, pre-2001 corded window coverings. It’s also the time to highlight the industry’s efforts to raise awareness of safety issues and to eliminate the problem by design.

Once again, the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) has joined forces with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to declare October National Window Covering Safety Month. The month-long, nationwide campaign is designed to increase consumer awareness of cord safety concerns and to urge parents with young children to repair or replace pre-2001 corded blinds, shades and draperies with today’s safer products.

The WCSC is spearheading public relations and safety month marketing activities on behalf of the industry. As part of its ongoing public information campaign, WCSC regularly disseminates news and informational materials in the form of releases and feature stories for the print and broadcast media and through partnerships with various public and private organizations concerned with child safety, health and well-being. These efforts include a special safety month page on the WCSC Web site and cooperative promotional efforts with safety, health and housing groups.

To simplify industry participation, the “Kids, Cords, Caution” safety slogan introduced last year is again being used as the unifying theme for this year’s campaign, as is the logo that depicts a child’s hand grabbing the cords of a window blind.

EDUCATE, PROVIDE, PROMOTE
Since its inception in 1994, the WCSC, a coalition of major U.S. manufacturers, importers and retailers of window coverings, has made it its mission to:
• Educate Americans about potential window cord hazards facing young children.
• Provide consumers with free cord repair devices and information.
• Promote the industry’s continuing commitment to product quality and safety.

Since 1995, the WCSC has operated a national window cord safety information and education program. WCSC provides artwork, ad templates and cord safety information for reproduction and use by industry members and retailers in promoting Safety Month. Materials can be downloaded at no charge from the Internet at www.windowcoverings.org/industry. Access requires a user name: Industry; and a password: October.

The council also provides consumers with free retrofit tassels, tie-downs and cord stops for older window coverings. Consumers can order free retrofit devices through the WCSC’s Web site at www.windowcoverings.org, or its toll-free phone line at (800) 506-4636. To date, these efforts have resulted in the repair of millions of residential window coverings.

BUILT-IN SAFETY
As Safety Month, October is an ideal time to remind customers that if their mini-blinds or corded shades were purchased before 2001, they should consider replacing them. Safety experts say they may be a potential hazard to infants and toddlers who could accidentally strangle on the cords.

Mini-blinds and pleated shades made before 1995 often have a looped pull cord that can serve as an unintended noose when within reach of a child. WCSC members eliminated looped pull cords on horizontal blinds and shades in 1995, and in 1997 permanently attached tie-downs for vertical blinds and draperies became an industry standard. In 2001, built-in cord stops were incorporated into the design of mini-blinds and corded shades to help prevent small hands from pulling on inner cords as well.

“Because cord safety features are now built into window coverings, we believe parents will feel more confident about their child’s safety if they replace their older window coverings with the products now available,” explained WCSC Executive Director Peter Rush.

Another alternative is to retrofit pre-2001 corded blinds and window coverings with retrofit devices.

Safety experts recommend that parents install cordless window coverings in children’s bedrooms and play areas. Most traditionally corded window fashions are now available in cordless styles through the use of spring-loaded mechanisms, battery- or motor-operated lift controls, or simple wand pulls. And innovative new designs come in fabrics, metals and wood.

AWARENESS RISING, MORE WORK TO DO
Even better news is that industry efforts to raise awareness of safety issues have been working. Ninety percent of Americans are aware that the pull cords on certain draperies and window blinds can pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children. When participants of a WCSC study were asked if they were aware of the potential interior cord hazard in 2001, 65 percent of those polled said, “Yes.” That number increased to 77 percent in 2002.

That means while awareness is increasing, a significant number of Americans are still unaware of this important issue. The WCSC and CPSC remain steadfast in their efforts to make every home safer.