Statement of Meg Bohne, Organizing Manager, as prepared for delivery
Hundreds of deaths involving dressers and other clothing storage units have occurred since 2000. Thousands of emergency room-treated injuries happen each year because of these incidents. This terrible toll on children became a call to action at Consumer Reports. So, we launched an ongoing investigation into the stability of dressers in the marketplace. This includes our own testing of dressers and analysis of government data. On the basis of our investigation, it became clear that the current industry standards are inadequate.
Our testing has demonstrated that it is feasible for dressers at all price points to pass a more rigorous test, and our analysis of the injury and fatality data shows why it is necessary for furniture manufacturers to meet a stronger standard. As a result, we have called for stronger standards to be quickly implemented to protect children.
Right now, consumers have no easy way to simply look at a dresser and tell whether it is likely to tip over—heavy and light dressers can tip over, and large and small dressers can tip over. That’s why the standards need to change. A more effective, mandatory standard would help save children’s lives. This is especially critical given the lack of any recent action by the CPSC to recall dressers currently on the market that that don’t stay upright when put through basic testing.
Consumer Reports strongly supports the STURDY Act and urges its swift passage to help prevent these avoidable tip-over tragedies. And we thank all of the parents who are doing the hard work of turning their tragedies into progress toward safer dressers.
For the full statement, click here.