Texas Watch—Consumer Protection. Corporate Accountability. Citizen Advocacy.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday recalled all Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds with cords – around 50 million – due to the risk of child strangulation and death. The Chicago Tribune reports that eight child deaths and 16 near-strangulations from these types of shades have occurred since 2001. A nonprofit group called Parents for Window Blind Safety was founded earlier this decade by a parent whose child was strangled by shades in 2002 and has been lobbying the federal government for action. Several major retailers, including Wal-Mart and JCPenney, also are participating in the recall, the Tribune reports.