Drawstrings in children's clothing

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) finds the presence of drawstrings in specific children’s clothing to be a substantial product hazard. This policy applies to drawstrings in children’s hoodies and outerwear for sizes 2T to 12, or equivalents and drawstrings in children’s waist and bottom clothing for sizes 2T to 16, or equivalents.

For more information, see CPSC’s link for business and manufacturers.

Drawstrings in children's hoodies and outerwear

Drawstrings in children’s hoodies and outerwear pose a hazard should the drawstring become entangled with other objects. Drawstrings located near the neck and hood areas of children’s upper outerwear present a strangulation hazard when the drawstring becomes caught in objects, such as playground slides.

Drawstrings in children's waist and bottom clothing

Drawstrings in children’s waist and bottom clothing pose a hazard should they catch in the doors or other parts of a motor vehicle, thereby presenting a dragging hazard when the operator of the vehicle drives off without realizing that someone is attached to the vehicle by the drawstring.

Children’s lower body clothing sizes 2T to 16, or equivalent, shall not possess drawstrings longer than 3 inches when garment is expanded to its fullest width. Additionally, children’s lower body clothing shall not possess toggles, knots, or other attachments at the free ends of the drawstring. If a waist or bottom drawstring in upper outerwear sizes 2T to 16, or the equivalent, is one continuous string, it must be bar-tacked (that is, stitched through to prevent the drawstring from being pulled through its channel).

Who should submit documents?

If you are selling children’s clothing with drawstrings, you may be asked to provide documents to confirm the safety of your products. Amazon requires documentation that indicates testing compliance with standards or regulations for each product you are applying to sell.

How do I request approval to sell children’s clothing with drawstrings?

Amazon’s policies require that children’s clothing with drawstrings sold through the Amazon website meet specified certification standards. If you are contacted by Amazon, please submit the following information to child-safety@amazon.com:

1. Company name
2. Seller ID/Vendor ID
3. Email address
4. Phone number
5. A list of ASINs you are applying to sell
6. A Children's Product Certificate (CPC) for the ASINs you are applying to sell
7. Test reports from a CPSC-accepted testing laboratory confirming each product was tested to the requirements listed below:

   Product	Regulation/Standard Requirement
   Children's lower body drawstring clothing	ASTM F1816-18 and CPSIA
   Children's upper body drawstring clothing	Prohibited for sale on Amazon

More information is available on the CPSC Drawstring website.

A list of CPSC-accepted labs is available here. Some labs provide special Amazon rates for testing. A list of these Compliance Solutions providers is available here.