The Smith and Noble shades recall was announced on Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company is the latest in a string of large retailers and manufacturers who have agreed to stop selling shade designs with loose, looping cords that can get entangled around a child’s neck.

The Smith and Noble recall came after the company and the CPSC received a report that a 5-year-old boy in Tacoma, Washington became entangled and nearly strangled in May 2009. The boy recovered without the need for any medical treatment.

About 1,160,000 Roman shades and 115,000 roller shades sold under the Smith+Noble, Christopher Lowell, Jessitt Gold, Shop Blinds and Window Elements labels are impacted by the recall. It also includes all custom, made-to-order Roman shades sold by the company as well.

The shades were sold exclusively through www.smithandnoble.com and through catalog sales from 1998 through April 2010 for between $100 and $1,600.

Late last year, the CPSC requested that all companies voluntarily recall all Roman shades and roller shade designs that do not have a tension device attached to the continuous loop cord. About 50 million shades were recalled at that time. The decision came after a number of deaths and near-strangulations were reported.

The CPSC recommends that anyone who has these shades and blinds, and who have children or regular child visitors in the same home, contact the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) immediately for a free repair kit at www.windowcoverings.org.

The IKEA blinds recall, announced June 10 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is part of an ongoing effort to remove all of these types of blinds from the market. The recall for this latest batch comes after the CPSC and IKEA received a report that a 1 ½-year-old boy in Lowell, Massachusetts nearly strangled on one of the IKEA Roman blinds on February 28 of this year.

About 790,000 of the Roman blinds were recalled in November 2008 and August 2009 after a little girl in Connecticut strangled to death, and a 2-year-old boy almost strangled. There was also a previous recall for 533,000 roller blinds in October 2009.

The recall affects about 3,360,000 window shades, including all IKEA Roman and roll-up blinds, as well as any roller blind that does not have a tension device attached to the bead chain. The blinds were sold by IKEA from January 1998 through June 2009 for between $5 and $55.

The latest recall follows a joint statement from the CPSC and the Window Covering Safety Council in December calling for an end to the use of all similar window shade designs. The statement accompanied a recall of 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds that covered nearly a dozen products from J.C. Penny, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

According to the CPSC, there have been five deaths and 16 near strangulations linked to Roman shades since 2006, and three deaths associated with roll-up blinds since 2001.

The CPSC recommends that consumers immediately stop using all Roman and roll-up blinds, as well as all roller blinds that do not have a tension device attached to the chain. IKEA is accepting all of the blinds back for a full refund. For more information, consumers can visit the firm’s website at www.ikea-usa.com.

The massive recall, announced December 15, was made in a joint statement by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC). The Council is attempting to provide free repair kits for anyone with one of the recalled blinds.

The design-wide recalls come in the wake of five deaths and 16 near-strangulation reports involving Roman shades since 2006, and three deaths involving roll-up blinds since 2001. Both designs have loose cords and strings that can become entangled around a child’s neck.

The recalls are the culmination of a number of Roman shade and pull-up blind recalls which have been announced by CPSC with regular frequency over at least the last year.

Nearly a dozen specific products were recalled on Tuesday in connection with the overall roll-up blinds and Roman shades recall. Even though only a few million shades were specifically mentioned in recalls, the CPSC estimates that about five million Roman shades and three million roll-up blinds are sold each year. All of them are being recalled.

The products specifically mentioned in recall notices on posted Tuesday included:

• More than 2.2 million J.C. Penny Roman shades and 340 J.C. Penny roll-up blinds, which nearly strangled at least two children this year. [Recall Notice]
• 600,000 Wal-Mart roll-up blinds and 500,000 Wal-Mart Roman shades sold through Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. [Recall Notice]
• About 290,000 All Strong Roman Shades, which were connected to the death of a 16-month boy in Ohio in February 2007 who strangled after pulling the shade into his crib.  [Recall Notice]
• About 250,000 Oval roll-up blinds sold at Ace Hardware and Big Lots.  [Recall Notice]
• About 2,000 “Weren’t Built in a Day” Roman shades sold exclusively at The Land of Nod stores. [Recall Notice]
• About 355,000 Deluxe Matchstick roll-up shades sold exclusively at Big Lots.  [Recall Notice]
• More than 350,000 Roman shades and Paxton Roller shades sold at the Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and PBTeens. The Roman shades were involved in one near-strangulation of a three-year-old earlier this year.  [Recall Notice]
• About 42,000 Jute/Poly roman shades sold exclusively at West Elm.  [Recall Notice]
• About 1,800 Roman shades sold by Draper Inc., sold at window covering dealers nationwide.  [Recall Notice]
• An additional 6,300 Newport Energy Solution Roman shades sold at Ross Stores have been recalled, following a recall of 364,000 of the shades in October 2009. The shades were involved in at least two injuries.  [Recall Notice 1] and [Recall Notice 2]

The CPSC and WCSC recommend that anyone who has these shades and blinds, and who have children or regular child visitors in the same home, contact the WCSC immediately for a free repair kit at www.windowcoverings.org.

In addition, the organizations recommend that consumers examine all shades and blinds in the home and make certain there are no accessible loose cords. They should also be sure not to place cribs, beds and furniture close to windows where children can climb onto them and gain access to the cords. Looped bead chains and nylon cords should use tension devices to keep cords taut.

On Tuesday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of 533,000 Ikea roller blinds, 364,000 Bed Bath & Beyond Roman shades, and 90,000 Hanover Direct Roman shades. The recalls come after at least three young children were nearly strangled to death by the shades.

The Ikea recall includes all ISDANS, TUPPLUR and ENJE roller blinds, which have a looped bead chain which forms a free-standing loop that can wrap around a child’s neck if not secured to the wall or floor. The blinds are made of solid or sheer fabric with an orange warning label attached to the base of the blind marked with AA-136800-3. The blinds are 24 to 79 inches wide. The ENJE blinds have a glued label on the wall fitting with the Ikea logo, an article number, 5-digit supplier number, a date stamp and “Made in Taiwan.” The blinds were sold at Ikea stores nationwide between July 2005 and July 2009.

The Bed Bath & Beyond recall includes the Dublin Energy Solution Roman Shades, which have exposed inner cords on the back which can get caught around a child’s neck. The shades were sold in navy, chocolate, khaki and cream colors and include a small orange, black and white warning label on the back of the head rail. The shades were sold at Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide and online from August 2007 through September 2009.

The recall also includes Faux Suede Roman Shades from Hanover Direct, Inc., which is also known as Domestications. Like with the other Roman shades, the inner cord on the backside of shade is exposed and can get caught around a child’s neck. The shades have a style number of 12810A printed on the packaging box, and a sticker with the letters WS is on the head rail. The shades were sold in ivory, taupe, gold, plum wine red, midnight blue, moss green and dark brown. They were sold through catalog sales at online at www.domestications.com from January 2004 through December 2008.

The U.S. CPSC and the manufacturers recommend that consumers immediately stop using these shades and blinds and contact the sellers for a free repair kit.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the window shade and blind recalls on August 26, affecting more than 5.4 million units. All of the recalls were issued due to the risk that children may become entangled and strangle themselves.

At least three deaths and several near strangulation reports have been attributed to design defects with the recalled products, involving cords, beaded chains or drawstrings that can become looped around a child’s neack.

The recalls include:

Target Roman Shades and Oval Roll-Up Blinds Recall: Approximately 4.2 million roll-up blinds and 600,000 Roman shades sold exclusively at Target stores. The Woolrich Roman Shades have two head rail labels that read “Lewis Hyman, Inc., www.lewishymaninc.com” and “LHI, 005301, Made in China.” They were sold between March 2006 and December 2008. The 1/4″ Oval roll-up blinds, which do not have a release clip, have a “Lewis Hyman, Inc.” label and the year of manufacture on the bottom rail, along with a warning against possible strangulation. They were sold between January 2009 and December 2003.

Ikea MELINA Roman Blinds Recall: Approximately 120,000 MELINA Roman Blinds sold exclusively at Ikea, which have a sewn-in label at the top edge with the IKEA logo and the article name (MELINA). They also have a five-digit supplier number, 19395 and a four-digit date stamp and the words “Made in Taiwan.” They were sold between August 2006 and June 2008.

Pottery Barn Kids Roman Shades Recall: Approximately 85,000 roman shades with exposed inner cords on the back have been recalled. They all have “pottery barn kids” on a label at the bottom edge of the shade and another label warning of the risk of strangulation. Roman shades with a fabric covering on the cords are not being recalled. They were sold between January 2003 and May 2007.

Roller Shades Recall: About 245,000 roller shades distributed by Lutron Electronics Co. Inc., which includes custom-ordered shades that have an adhesive strip connecting the shade to the roller tube and reads “Lutron Shading Solutions” and “800-446-1503.” They were sold through specialty dealers and Expo Design Centers between January 2000 and April 2009.

Target Thermal Sailcloth and Matchstick Bamboo Roman Shade Recall: Approximatey 163,00 shades imported by Victoria Classics, including brown Matchstick roman shades and thermal shades sold in coffee, red, ivory and tan colors. They were sold exclusively at Target and through Target.com between September 2008 and June 2009.

Vertical Land Blind and Shade Recall: Approximately 15,400 horizontal blinds, 16,400 vertical blinds and 800 cellular shades sold at Vertical Land stores in Panama City and Pensacola, Florida. The custom-made vertical and cellular window coverings that lack a cord tensioning device, and the horizontal blinds do not have inner cord stop devices. They were sold between January 1992 and December 2006.

The CPSC urges consumers to cease using these products immediately. They can contact the various manufacturers for refunds, vouchers and replacement kits.

The Ikea shade recall involves IRIS Roman blinds and ALVINE roman blinds, which were sold between July 2005 and June 2008 for between $7 and $30.

The recall was issued after a one year old girl from Connecticut died after the inner cord from an Ikea Roman Blind became wrapped twice around her neck, causing her to be strangled in a portable playpen located under the window where the blind was hung.

All sizes of Ikea Iris Roman Blinds and Ikea Alvine Roman blinds have been recalled. The shades were sold in white with a label at the top edge of the blinds containing the Iris or Alvine brand name and a supplier number of 19799 or 21369.

A similar blinds recall was issued yesterday for about 7,300 Insulated Black-Out Roller Shades and Insulated Roman Shades manufactured by Green Mountain Vista, of Williston, Vermont. The shades contain a looped bead chain that hangs loosely by the blinds, posing a risk of strangulation to children.

According to that blinds recall notice, at least one two year old girl suffered severe neck injuries when her head became entangled in the bead chain attached to the roman blinds. Fortunately, an older brother was nearby and able to rescue the girl, who suffered deep neck bruising from the incident.

On November 20, 2008, Health Canada, issued a warning to consumers about all types of Roman shades and rollup blinds that contain any type of exposed or loose cords, which could allow enough space for a child to insert their head and neck.