[Caption: A group of recalled sweatshirts from Burlington Coat Factory, July 2009 (Photo courtesy of CPSC)]

Though the death of a child is always a tragic event, there’s something especially touching - and senseless - about children dying from drawstring accidents.

Perhaps it’s the fact that nearly all of these incidents were easily preventable. Over the past five years, more than 100 recalls have been issued on clothing with drawstrings - each one clearly a strong warning sign.

A recent ruling from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will hopefully strengthen safety measures about these dangerous designs.

“The Commission staff has demonstrated properly that the characteristics of drawstrings...meet the criteria to establish them as substantial product hazards,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, in a recent statement. “This rule strengthens CPSC’s authority to regulate drawstrings, and empowers our import staff...to quickly halt shipments of potentially hazardous children’s outerwear at the ports of entry.”

Previously, drawstrings were considered hazardous only on a so-called “voluntary” basis.

According to the CPSC, more than 20 children, aged 2-14, have died from drawstring accidents since 1985. Common incidents involve drawstrings becoming stuck in slides, cribs, school bus doors, escalators and fences. Children who died from drawstring accidents often died from suffocation, or from being stuck under wheels of buses.

As parents, it’s critical to always check our children’s clothing for possible hazards. Snaps, Velcro, buttons and elastic are all safer components than drawstrings. If you do discover drawstrings, you might be eligible for a refund from a CPSC’s product recall Web site.

Related:

Macy’s Fined $750,000 for Selling Kids Clothes With Dangerous Drawstrings July 13, 2011

CPSC Going After Sellers of Children’s Outerwear With Drawstrings March 5, 2010