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The Commission received a petition from a group of nine organizations representing consumer groups, safety consultants, and legal counsel. The petition requested that the Commission initiate proceedings to promulgate a mandatory standard to eliminate accessible cords on window covering products. The petition asserts that a mandatory rule is necessary because attempts to develop a voluntary standard that adequately mitigates the risk of injury associated with window covering cords have been unsuccessful. The Commission voted to accept CPSC staff's recommendation to approve the petition and subsequently issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for corded window coverings. The ANPRM begins a rulemaking proceeding under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) to address the risk of strangulation to young children that is associated with corded window covering products. Staff sent two notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) to the Commission for consideration in October 2021.  The first NPRM, under section 15(j) of the CPSA, would amend 16 CFR part 1120 to add hazardous operating and inner cords on stock window coverings, and hazardous inner cords on custom window coverings, to the list of substantial product hazards. The listed cords would be required to comply with the 2018 voluntary standard for window covering cords or else be subject to denial of admission and/or corrective action.  The second NPRM, under sections 7 and 9 of the CPSA, proposes that operating cords on custom window coverings meet the same requirements as operating cords on stock window coverings under the 2018 voluntary standard.  The Commission voted in January 2022 to issue both proposed rules.  The comment period ends on March 23, 2022.  On March 16, 2022, the Commission held a hearing for the presentation of oral comments on the rule for operating cords on custom window coverings. On September 28, 2022, staff submitted a final rule briefing package to the Commission.

Statement of Need:

This rule is necessary to address the unreasonable risk of strangulation to children 8 years old and younger on custom window coverings with accessible operating cords longer than 8 inches. 

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

For the final rule under sections 7 and 9 of the CPSA, using a value of statistical life (VSL) of 1, the aggregate benefits of the rule are estimated to be about $23 million annually; and the lowest cost of the rule is estimated to be about $54.4 million annually.  However, increasing the VSL by a factor of 3, to estimate the loss of a child’s life versus an adult’s life, yields an estimated aggregate benefit of $68.7 million.