Clothes Shopping During Tax-Free Week? Watch For Drawstrings

HARTFORD, August 17 — One item of clothing that is a given for the school-age crowd is the “hoodie” — a hooded sweatshirt or top that comes in all sizes and styles for boys and girls from infants through teens.

With school shopping in full swing, particularly during Tax Free Week, the Department of Consumer Protection is reminding parents to look for — and remove — all drawstrings from the hood, neck, and waist of any hooded sweater, top, jacket, or sweatshirt they buy for children.

“Hoodies have been around since the 1930s, but took off as a fashion item for kids only in the 1980s,” Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr, said August 16 — the first day of Tax Free Week. “Sadly, it immediately became apparent that hoodies with drawstrings may not be safe for youngsters.”

From 1985 through 1999, 22 children died and 48 were injured by tangled or snagged drawstrings. Most of the deaths and injuries involved drawstrings in the hood or neck of the garment, while the rest involved waist-level drawstrings. Hood drawstrings are most often involved in accidents and injuries on a playground slide.

As children descend the slide, a toggle or knot on the drawstring can get caught at the top of the slide, trapping the youngsters, tightening, and eventually strangling them. At least one child, however, was strangled after her drawstring became caught on a fence she was trying to climb.

Some toddlers have been strangled in their cribs by drawstrings that got caught on the crib slats.

Waist drawstring accidents have often involved children aged 7 through 14 whose jackets caught on school bus handrails or in bus doors.

“The Consumer Product Safety Commission discourages drawstrings on hoods and necklines and works with manufacturers to recall children’s clothing that have drawstrings,” Commissioner Farrell said. “In just the past year, more than three dozen separate recalls were issued involving nearly 430,000 children’s drawstring items.

“Our own product safety inspectors always watch for drawstrings on children’s clothes, and if found, will pull the items off the shelves,” Commissioner Farrell said. “But with more clothing being imported these days, it’s probable that some items in stores still have drawstrings where they shouldn’t. So parents need to pay attention and avoid these items, or remove the drawstrings immediately after purchase.”

In addition to banning hood drawstrings, the Consumer Product Safety Commission requires that waist drawstrings extend no more than 3 inches out of the garment, and that the drawstring be stitched into the garment at its midpoint so it cannot be pulled longer on one side.

“We encourage shoppers to buy children’s hooded jackets that close with snaps, buttons, or Velcro,” Commissioner Farrell said. “And please, take this opportunity to check your children’s hooded sweatshirts and jackets at home and remove any drawstrings you find. This simple fix will help keep your children warm and safe in the colder months ahead.”