Mandatory Safety Standard for Clothing Storage Units Becomes Law
At least 234 people died as the result of clothing storage unit tip-overs between January 2000 and April 2022, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 199 of whom were kids. The agency estimates that 5,300 clothing storage tip-over injuries sent people to hospitals each year from 2006 to 2021.
Federal regulators have approved new mandatory safety standards for dressers and other clothing storage units sold in the U.S., after decades of furniture tip-overs that have injured and in some cases killed children. A rule approved by the CPSC last week applies to dressers, armoires, wardrobes and more and is intended to protect children up to 72 months old from unstable furniture.
Anchor kits will now be mandatory with all dressers sold moving forward. If a current dresser doesn't have one, it is recommended you install on, especially if it is one accessible to children.
Consumer advocates, furniture industry trade organizations and a group of parents whose children died in furniture tip-overs all praised the new rule as a boon to household safety.
