November is Child Safety and Protection Month, and as the month comes to a close, we wanted to remind you of one of the most important innovations in window coverings to date: The Cordless Lift System.
“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking. “What does a cordless lift have to do with child safety?”
It has everything to do with it! On average, about nine children, age 5 and younger, die every year from strangulation in window coverings with cords, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
That’s why SelectBlinds became the first custom window covering company to go cordless on all products in March 2016.
We care about keeping your family safe! We have the Cordless Lift System option on every product we sell.
Keep reading to see all our different cordless lift options for our window blinds and shades.
Classic Cordless
Operate these with ease; simply push up and pull down on the bottom rail.
Cordless Lift & Lock™
When you press and hold the button, you can move the blind up and down to your preferred position. To lock it into place, simply let go of the button.
Easy Lift and Tilt
These blinds won’t go up until you grab the bottom rail to lift and tilt it.
Pull Tassle Lift
A tassel hangs closely to the bottom rail so there are no dangerous, long cords. Pull it down and let it raise the blinds automatically.
Cordless Top Down Bottom Up
These shades can be raised and lowered from the top and the bottom for privacy and light control. Lift the bottom rail to raise, and pull to lower. If you choose a Lift & Lock™ system, both rails will have a push button.
Motorized Wand or Remote Control
The cordless motorized wand is attached to the headrail and has two buttons – one to raise the window covering and one to lower it. If you want to operate a single shade or multiple shades from across the room, the remote control option is the perfect solution for you.
Home Automation
Take motorization to the next level by pairing Alexa, Google, & Apple products for shade operation by voice control. Everything else is automated. Why not your windows?
If you do have corded window coverings, be sure to check these child safety updates and download our top five safety tips for protecting little ones. You can also keep dangling cords out of reach of kids and pets by requesting our free cord cleats.
Want to talk through these cordless options? We’re happy to help! Chat with one of our Design Consultants, or call them at (888) 257-1840. They’re easy to talk to!
P.S. For all our history buffs, here’s how the #gocordless movement came to be.
The 1990s
The first study that window blind cords were a threat to children came out.
1994 – 2003
A series of patents were submitted for cordless innovations.
2002 – 2004
The CPSC staff and the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA), voluntarily, and jointly review investigation reports between 1996 and 2002 to find solutions to hazard scenarios. Their findings, which were shared in 2004, showed that the majority of leading incidents were a result of a continuous loop cord or multiple cords.
2012
CPSC and WCMA’s National Standard for Safety of Corded Window Covering Products was approved in November 2012 with requirements like: “new testing requirements for cord accessibility, hazardous loop testing, roll-up style shade performance, and durability testing of all safety devices.”
2014
The CPSC officially got involved and started the rulemaking process to develop a mandatory standard for manufacturers.
2016
In March, SelectBlinds became the first custom window covering company to go cordless on all products.
2017
The CPSC proposed revising the standard for manufacturers to no longer use cords in window blinds.
2018
In January, the proposal was approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The majority of window covering products now have to produce coverings with
1. No operating cords (cordless);
2. Inaccessible operating cords; or
3. Operating cords shorter than 8 inches in any position.
In December, manufacturers adopted the new standard on cordless blinds and consumers are no longer able to purchase blinds with cords longer than 8 inches in retail stores.
Corded window coverings are available by custom-order products; however, the cords must have a default length of 40% of the blind height and default to a tilt wand instead of a tilt cord.
2022
In May, Canada enforced regulations and restricted certain products being sold.
In November, the CPSC approved a federal safety standard for operating cords on custom window coverings. They also approved a federal safety rule that non-compliant window covering cords are added to the CPSC’s substantial product hazard list.
