Children's clothes

Cords and drawstrings in children’s clothes

Take care and avoid cord and drawstrings in young children’s clothes.

Accidents involving long cords and drawstrings on children’s outer garments have resulted in serious injury and death to children all over the world, including Ireland.  For example, children have been seriously injured where cords on garments have got entangled in playground equipment or in bicycle wheels.

While it is against the law to place unsafe children’s clothes on the market and there are standards manufacturers should follow, you should take care when choosing clothes for children.

To ensure that your child is not at risk from unsafe clothes, take a look at the tips below.

Some useful tips:

• Avoid cords and drawstrings in young children’s
• Young children’s clothes should not have cords or drawstrings in the hood and neck area
• Cords in the hood and neck area should not be elastic except for shoulder straps and halter necks
• Halter neck-style children's clothes should not have loose ends in the hood and neck area.
• Avoid children's clothes intended to be tied at the front with long belts or sashes
• Avoid cords or drawstrings on children's clothes that trail below the sleeve or hem of garments.
• Ensure functional cords at the bottom of clothes and decorative cords at the bottom hem of long-legged trousers are totally on the inside of the garment.
• Homemade children's clothes should also meet these requirements