CPSC clarifies ban

Manufacturers finally might cut the cord on children’s clothing that features drawstrings.

Nychelle Fleming, who is a spokesperson for Consumer Product Safety Commission, says manufacturers called the voluntary ban on drawstrings in children’s clothes confusing. They questioned whether certain types of drawstrings—retractable or sewn-on, for example—were included.

Fleming says all questionable items are included in the ban and—as of last July—the ban is officially mandatory.

Although CPSC used the term “voluntary,” Fleming says the agency continually recalled children’s clothing that contained drawstrings after the clothes were put on retailers’ shelves. Between 2006 and 2010, Fleming says, CPSC recalled 115 products that violated the ban; Consumers Digest found six recalls in early 2011 of noncompliant clothing.

Any child’s clothing that contains drawstrings around the neck or waist area is considered a hazard for children and isn’t supposed to be sold in the United States.