Proposed Revision of New Safety Standard To Require Vast Majority of Window Covering Products Sold In U.S. and Canada to be Cordless or Have Inaccessible or Short Cords

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) Executive Director Ralph Vasami issued the following statement today following the first in a series of standard-setting meetings held in accordance with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines:

I am pleased that the process to revise the window covering safety standard has commenced.  At the meeting on October 26, WCMA introduced a new approach that would segment the window covering products market by stock and custom products.  Under the proposal, all stock products, which make up approximately 80 percent of products sold in the U.S. and Canadian markets, will be required to be cordless or have inaccessible or short cords.  This approach is supported by a review of the hazard data that shows that a vast majority of incidents identified by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) take place on stock products.  Segmenting the market so that the stock category is cordless or has inaccessible cords or short cords, would have the most immediate and significant impact on reducing strangulation risk for young children.

WCMA's goal is to develop and submit for ballot the revised standard by the end of 2016.  As we previously announced, we are investigating the possibility of developing a joint standard with the Canadian Standards Association and the Standards Council of Canada to ensure regulatory consistency between the U.S. and Canada.

While we have a great deal of work to do, we are confident that working with representatives from CPSC and Health Canada, consumer groups, Canadian Standards developers, and all facets of the window covering industry, we can achieve our shared goal of a revised Standard that further addresses the hazards and reduces the risk to young children associated with window coverings with accessible cords. 

To learn more about the voluntary standard for corded window covering products, please visit http://www.wcmanet.org/wcmastandard.html.

About WCMA
Organized in the 1950s as the Venetian Blind Council, the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) represents the interests of the window covering industry manufacturers, fabricators and assemblers. Industry products include blinds, shades, shutters, curtains, curtain rods, drapes, drapery hardware and other window treatments. Visit us on the web at www.wcmanet.org.

Media Contact:
Paul Nathanson
202-828-1714
[email protected]

SOURCE Window Covering Manufacturers Association

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