Lululemon Athletica Recalls 318,000 Women's Tops Due To Drawstring Injuries
Lululemon Athletica is one of the top fashion brands for sportswear and activities, but an inadvertent manufacturing hazard has revealed one of the many dangers of drawstrings. Costumer complaints led to a recall of hundreds of thousands of Lululemon’s tops after they reportedly suffered injuries to their face or eyes.
This is the second recall the company has had to make for selling its customers faulty products. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the clothing line’s cords located on the hood or neck area have metal or plastic tips that lash up into people’s faces when pulled or caught on something. There were a total of 133,000 of the faulty tops sold in the United States and an additional 185,000 sold in Canada between January 2008 and December 2014.
A total of seven people were injured after the drawstring was caught on something, snapped back, and impacted their face. Those who that bought the faulty tops, which cost anywhere from $75 to $260, were told to either remove the cord on their own or ask Lululemon for a non-elastic cord and instructions on how to replace the recalled cord.
Lululemon’s problem isn't an isolated incident when it comes to drawstrings. In 2009, 3-year-old boy climbing playground equipment died after the drawstring of his sweatshirt got caught and strangled him. The death set in motion parental concerns for kids’ clothing manufacturers, which eventually led to the state of Wisconsin becoming the first in the country to ban drawstrings from children’s clothing.
Although the guidelines officially apply to children, the standard of safety applies to adults. Lululemon's recall sheds light on another way in which drawstrings may be harmful to adults who wear the clothing; it could lead to new bans and warnings later on. CPSC has already warned women who have any of the dangerous drawstring tops to exercise caution, especially during the kinds of physical activity Lululemon's clothes are meant for.
In less than 25 years—between 1985 and 2009—there were 18 deaths and 38 non-fatal incidents involving outerwear drawstrings. Since then, CPSC has recalled millions of sweatshirts and other children’s clothing items with drawstrings around the neck — in addition to fining 17 companies for selling the banned clothing. Two years later, drawstrings were banned from most children’s jackets, coats, sweatshirts, and sweaters.
Parents were immediately advised to remove any drawstrings in children’s clothing that was purchased before the ban. In order for consumers to understand the dangers of drawstrings, they gave parents a scenario to imagine: If a child descending down the slide is caught at a “catch point” by the knot of their drawstring, the fun ends.