Clothes safety

European market surveillance authorities receive notifications of accidents where cords or drawstrings on children's clothes become entangled in bicycles, doors, car doors, or playground equipment, leading to severe injury or death. National accident statistics show that such accidents fall into two groups by age: i) younger children where entrapment of hood cords in playground equipment such as slides, result in fatalities; ii) older children where cords and strings from the waist and lower hems of garments are entrapped in moving vehicles such as bus doors, ski lifts and bicycles resulting in severe injuries or death from being dragged or run over by the vehicle. A recent EU market surveillance exercise, checked in particular, the safety of children's clothes with cords and drawstrings, with which there can be a risk of strangulation, especially for children up to 7 years.