CNN reported this morning that the recall has been undertaken in concert with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which said today the agency "is aware of two incidents of children becoming entangled in the exposed cord found on the backside of Roman shades while looking out of windows."In a joint statement, Lowe's and the CPSC indicated that a two-year-old boy in Arvada, Colorado, "was found with the inner cord wrapped around his arm and neck" in November of last year. Further, a four-year-old boy in Lexington, South Carolina, "suffered a rope burn to his neck after becoming entangled in the cord of a Roman shade."
Lowe's is recalling six million Roman shades and about five million roll-up blinds. The products were sold at Lowe's retail locations from 1999 through June of this year with the exception of the blinds, which were sold only up to 2005.
At the time of last year's recall, the CPSC named 25 retailers as having involvement in the sale of the recalled blinds and shades. The action by the CPSC at that time was triggered by the reports of five deaths and 16 near-misses (near strangulations) involving the Roman shades since 2006. There had also been reports of three deaths involving the roll-up blinds since 2001.
This time, the reports involved the Roman shades. While there were no reports involving the roll-up blinds, they were being recalled anyway as a precaution.
The cords inherent with the shades and the so-called "lifting loops" in the roll-up blinds have been found to present a strangulation risk to children. The cords can wrap around the neck area, trapping the child.
Lot numbers or specific descriptions were not available, but the CPSC does indicate on its Web site that blinds with a release-clip mechanism below the head rail on the backside of the blind or shade, or Roman shades with repair kits were not included in the recall.
The products were sold nationally in Lowe's stores for price points ranging from $10 to $1,800 for high-end blinds and shades.
The recalled products were manufactured in the US, as well as Mexico, Taiwan and China.