New clothing-storage furniture safety standard approved to protect kids from tip-overs

WASHINGTON — The agency in charge of consumer safety approved a new federal mandatory safety standard for furniture that stores clothing, aimed at protecting children from dangerous tip-over accidents.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 200 children have died after furniture that stores clothing fell on them over the last two decades.

This week CPSC approved the new rule that tightens safety standards for things like dressers, wardrobes and other furniture where you put clothes.

The new rule requires stronger real-world testing, including on clothing-storage furniture with interlocks, which prevent more than one drawer from opening at once.

The new rule also ramps up requirements for labels with safety information.

“New dressers that are manufactured, they’d have to abide by this strong standard, which undergo certain safety tests to mimic the effects of children pulling out filled drawers, or simulate children climbing or pulling on the unit,” said Dev Gowda, assistant director of nonprofit Kids in Danger. “This is an issue that affects all families, all children throughout the country. So, we’re very glad the CPSC finalized and passed their clothing-storage-unit standard.”

The move comes after the Senate passed the STURDY Act, which requires CPSC to revise the safety standards for free-standing clothing storage units.

Child safety advocates have been pushing for the change for years.

In 2019, Crystal Ellis testified before Congress about the death of her son Camden.

Camden Ellis was just two days shy of his second birthday when tragedy struck.

“His three-drawer, just 30 1/4 inch tall dresser, fell as he tried to reach inside to get his clothes, trapping his neck between the drawers and suffocating him,” said Ellis in her 2019 testimony. “His father found him when he went to get him up for breakfast. I can still hear my husband’s screams.”

Ellis is a founding member of the nonprofit group Parents Against Tip-Overs, which has been fighting for the new safety standard.

The new CPSC rule goes into effect in about six months, when manufacturers will be required to follow the new guidelines for new clothing-storage furniture.

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