Sweatshirts and lightweight jackets with drawstring hoods are a fun fashion item for kids.
Children can become entangled and strangle if the drawstrings catch on objects.
Neither the CPSC nor Trends Clothing had received any reports of injuries, but to ensure injury prevention the manufacturer cooperated with the CPSC in conducting the recall. According to the CPSC, from January 1985 to September 1995, the agency received reports of 16 deaths and 42 non-fatal incidents caused by drawstring entanglement. The ages of the children involved in all of the incidents ranged from 15 months to 11 years. Playground slides were involved in more than half of the entanglements. Other objects on which drawstrings have been caught include school buses, cribs, an escalator, fence, farm grinder, turn signal lever, ski chair lift, and tricycle.