Corded window treatments have always been a danger to children and pets, as they can easily get entangled in them. Sadly, children have experienced serious life-threatening injuries and even death from window coverings with exposed dangling cords. Governments are now taking affirmative action to eliminate these types of window coverings to ensure the safety of young ones.
It all began in Canada, and was enforced beginning May 1, 2022. The United States was not far behind. As of November 4, 2022 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to approve a new federal safety standard for operating cords on custom window coverings.
What this Means for You, the Consumer
Basically any inner cord or other accessible cord longer than 8-inches on window coverings will be made obsolete. These include pull cords, continuous loop cords, and inner cords. You might be wondering which shades and treatments are included in these new requirements? Here's the run down:
Horizontal Blinds
Roman Shades
Bamboo Shades
Top-down, bottom-up shades
Skylight shades
Pleated Shades
Mini blinds
Any other shades with reachable cords
How is the window covering industry helping the consumers in this area? Norman Window Coverings is giving a free cordless shade through their website to promote child safety awareness. From their Web page:
"every household in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) with a child under the age of eight (8) years old is eligible to receive one FREE custom-made cordless Norman® Honeycomb shade."
Follow the link listed below to read how to apply for a free cordless honeycomb shade from Norman USA. Please contact us to help you match any other honeycomb shades you may require in your home. Kempler Design, our partner company, has been dedicated to child safety using cordless shades since 2014. Click on this link to check out this blog post
How Can You Eliminate the Risks for Existing Corded Window Coverings?
There are a number of things you can do to make your home a place of safety for your children if you already have corded window coverings. According to one Canadian website, CoversCanada, lifting the cords out of reach from young ones can be done by securing it high on the wall with a wall cleat. Also, remove any existing corded window coverings from a baby, toddler, or young child's room. And please do not resell any corded blind or shade.
Please contact us at Window Fashionista to help you determine whether your existing blind, shade, or drapery can be modified as a motorized shade. We are happy to help assist with your window covering project.
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