Dear Customer,

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Empress Arts Ltd. will be announcing a recall of children’s sweaters (model number BL1048, sizes 2T) with drawstrings in the hood.

The sweaters have drawstrings through the hood. Children can get entangled in the drawstrings that can catch on playground equipment, fences or tree branches. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist drawstring in upper garments, such as jackets and sweatshirts. From 1985 through 2007, CPSC received reports of 27 deaths and 70 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children’s clothing drawstrings.

Please stop sale of any children’s upper outerwear with drawstrings in the hood or neck area immediately. You may either cut or remove the drawstring from the hoods. Please let us know how many sweaters are in your store’s inventory and how many were corrected to eliminate the hazard.

Also, attached is a poster for you to display in the store as a means for consumers to be made aware of the recall. We ask that you display the poster in a conspicuous location, i.e. cash register, customer service, bulletin, etc. The CPSC will be monitoring this recall. Click here to download poster (PDF).

For additional information, please contact Kathy Tanabe, Vice President of Empress Arts, Ltd. at (323) 780-8181 or write us. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us. We appreciate your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Kathy Tanabe
Vice President
Empress Arts, Ltd.