Choking, Strangulation Risks Prompt Recall of Kids' Hooded Sweatshirts | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Drawstrings that can wrap around wearers’ necks and choke or strangle them have prompted the recall of 3,600 hooded sweatshirts sold by Sunsations beach souvenir stores in Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, North Carolina (NC); Ocean City, Maryland (MD); and Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Recalled hoodies range in size from 2T to 12, have beach resort names printed on them, and bear the tag codes BL200 (item #16692), BL300 (item #16693) and style 292 (item #20221).

Announced on March 10, 2011, this recall of sweatshirts for infants, toddlers and school-age children is the second such emergency action taken by Sunsations in the past two years. In late 2009, the chain store alerted customers and parents to choking and strangulation risks posed by drawstrings on another large lot of hoodies. The simplest solution to protecting kids who wear the dangerous sweatshirts is to remove the drawstrings.

Both recalls were coordinated with the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has been striving to get all toys, clothes, window blinds and electric cords that can injure young children off the U.S. market. CPSC calls loose drawstrings and cords “hidden hazards” and has collected hundreds of reports of kids who died or required hospital treatment after becoming entangled in the strings.

EJL