Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, PROPOSED RULES—HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS—CPSC proposes adding window covering cords to ‘substantial product hazard’ list, (Sep 24, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

The proposal aims to reduce strangulation risks to children age 8 and younger.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has proposed amending its substantial product hazard list to address strangulation risks posed by certain cords used on stock and custom window coverings. The proposed rule would incorporate provisions from the 2022 version of the American National Standard for Safety of Corded Window Covering Products (ANSI/WCMA-2022) and designate the following cord-related characteristics as substantial product hazards: accessible free-hanging operating cords longer than 8 inches on custom window coverings; exposed continuous loops on custom horizontal blinds; exposed continuous loops without a tension device on other custom window coverings; single retractable cord lift systems with stroke lengths greater than 36 inches; cord loop lift systems on stock and custom roll-up style shades; and the absence of warning labels and warning tags associated with certain cord systems. Comments are due by November 23, 2026 (CPSC Notice of proposed rulemaking, 91 Fed. Reg. 60546 (Sept. 24, 2026)).

Hazard data. The proposed rule cites incident data collected from 2018 through 2025 involving window covering cords. CPSC staff identified 73 incidents associated with window covering cords during that period. These included 21 incidents involving pull cords, seven fatal incidents involving continuous-loop cords, one fatal incident involving cord loop lifts on roll-up shades, three incidents involving inner cords, and 41 incidents involving unknown cord types. All incidents involved children age 8 or younger. Among the 21 pull-cord incidents, 18 resulted in death, two required emergency department treatment, and one resulted in a brain injury. All involved horizontal blinds and children between 12 months and 4 years old.

From January 2018 through December 2025, the Commission conducted 14 recalls involving more than 300,000 units of window coverings, including roller shades, cellular shades, and roll-up blinds that presented strangulation hazards.

ANSI/WCMA-2022 requirements. ANSI/WCMA-2022, which became effective June 1, 2024, expanded safety requirements for custom window coverings and clarified requirements for roll-up style shades. The standard prohibits accessible free-hanging operating cords longer than 8 inches on custom products and bars exposed continuous-loop operating systems on custom horizontal blinds. It also requires safety devices for certain continuous-loop systems used on other custom window coverings and establishes a maximum 36-inch stroke length for single retractable cord lift systems. The revised standard further defines roll-up style shades as cordless products. The Commission stated that compliance with these provisions reduces the strangulation risk associated with hazardous cords.

Proposed rule. The proposed rule would revise 16 C.F.R. part 1120 to incorporate by reference ANSI/WCMA-2022 and add new substantial product hazard provisions for stock and custom window coverings. It would also add definitions for “tension device” and “roll up style shade.”

The Commission preliminarily determined that the characteristics covered by the proposal are readily observable because inspectors can visually identify the presence, accessibility, configuration, or labeling of the cord systems and, where necessary, verify cord lengths through simple measurements. Products that do not conform to the specified ANSI/WCMA-2022 provisions would be deemed substantial product hazards and become subject to reporting requirements and other enforcement provisions under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

CPSC also preliminarily determined that stock and custom window coverings manufactured or imported for sale in the United States substantially comply with the identified readily observable characteristics in ANSI/WCMA–2022.

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