IKEA, Room & Board show support for revised STURDY Act, urge passage in Congress to prevent child tip-over injury and death
Washington, D.C. - Following the introduction of the Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Senators are announcing a robust coalition of new endorsers and supporting organizations for their revised bill, including manufacturers and retailers like IKEA, Room & Board, Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma, in addition to consumer groups and Parents Against Tip-overs. The bipartisan bill would change the stability standard for manufacturers of clothing storage units from voluntary to mandatory—requiring companies to ensure their products are tested for safety and stability before being sold. The original version of the bill passed the House earlier this year with broad, bipartisan support.
“When it comes to our children, safety is non-negotiable. The broad coalition of supporters for my bipartisan STURDY Act demonstrates that we have the momentum to make safety a requirement for furniture manufacturers and retailers, and the opportunity to prevent hundreds of kids from being injured or killed by tip-overs of chests, dressers and bureaus. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to pass this legislation and get it to the President’s desk,” said Senator Casey.
“No family should live in fear that a furniture accident could severely injure or even kill their child,” said Senator Klobuchar. “The STURDY Act will implement stronger industry standards to stabilize furniture, which in turn will help prevent furniture tip-overs. As support for this bill continues to build, I’ll keep working to move this legislation forward and ensure the safety of our kids.”
“The STURDY Act would enact strong furniture stability standards to prevent deadly tip-overs and protect children. I am encouraged by the building momentum for this bill and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure it passes Congress so that no more families are forced to grieve the preventable death of their child,” said Senator Blumenthal.
IKEA:
“The STURDY Act is the result of the combined efforts of many people and organizations – including parents, advocates, lawmakers and business – working together to create a safer life at home. We applaud Senators Casey, Blumenthal, and Klobuchar for reintroducing this bill and their colleagues for considering it. IKEA is proud to support this legislation, which will foster collaboration between business and regulators as we seek innovative solutions to preventing furniture tip-over.”
Room & Board:
“Room & Board values customer safety. We support the STURDY act and look forward to the enhanced furniture stability standards it will bring to the industry,”
Parents Against Tip-overs (PAT):
“Parents Against Tipovers (PAT), which represents over 500 families across the country who have unnecessarily lost their children to furniture tip-overs, has worked tirelessly to advance legislation that would prevent these tragedies from happening to other families. With unprecedented momentum behind the STURDY Act, we are now at a turning point. PAT supports the reintroduction of this amended version of the STURDY Act, which maintains the effectiveness and timelines of a new safety rule, while adding language that encourages manufactures to engineer safer products. It is rare for families of those injured or killed, consumer groups and industry to come together and develop legislative language which protects both consumers and corporations. The Senate must now do their part, and help us finish the job. PAT calls on the Senate to immediately pass the STURDY Act, the only path which ensures a timely and effective solution to this ongoing problem.”
Coalition - Consumer Reports, Consumer Federation of America [CFA], Kids In Danger [KID] and Public Citizen:
“For nearly two decades, the furniture industry has failed to develop a voluntary dresser stability standard that adequately protects children. Too many children have already died to delay action any further. This recently introduced version of the STURDY Act builds on the strength of the previous bill by encouraging manufacturer innovation that would result in safer, more stable furniture designs. The STURDY Act has long been supported by parents, healthcare and consumer groups, and now support behind this critical bill has expanded. Our coalition strongly urges all members of the U.S. Senate to stand with stakeholders and support this life-saving legislation that will protect families from preventable tragedies.”
American Academy of Pediatrics President Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP:
“Too many families have experienced the tragedy of losing a child because of furniture in their home that posed a dangerous tip-over risk. When purchasing furniture, parents should not need to worry or question whether it is safe for their family. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly supports the STURDY Act as a needed step forward to prevent more children from being injured and killed by furniture tip-overs, and thanks Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and cosponsors for their bipartisan leadership on this bill.”
According to a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, tip-overs cause an average of 25,500 emergency room-treated injuries each year, with 44 percent of that number involving children who are crushed, trapped or struck by furniture, TVs and appliances. Product instability that can lead to a tip-over incident can be caused or affected by an unstable dresser design such as a small base and top heavy, use on a sloped or unstable surface such as carpet, not using a restraint device or using a defective tip-over restraint device, heavy objects placed on top of a dresser such as a TV, or multiple dresser drawers open simultaneously. The bill also requires rigorous testing measures for furniture and to simulate real-world use and provides warning requirements based on the most up-to-date safety standards.
Supporting Organizations: Consumer Reports, Parents Against Tip-overs, Kids in Danger, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Safe Kids Worldwide, IKEA, Room & Board, Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel.
Read more about the STURDY Act here.
