Bean Bag Chairs Recall/Repair by Meri-Jon Artist Colony
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Media Relations
April 2, 1996
(301) 504-7908
Release # 96-093
CPSC, Meri-Jon Artist Colony Announce Recall to Repair Bean
Bag Chairs
WASHINGTON, D.C.- As part of its ongoing investigation of
zippered bean bag chairs that may present a suffocation
hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
and Meri-Jon Artist Colony of Lexington, N.C., announced
today a major cooperative repair program for 150,000
zippered bean bag chairs.
CPSC's ongoing investigation has included corrective
actions and repair programs implemented by 15 other bean bag
chair manufacturers. Previous corrective actions have
affected over 12 million bean bag chairs.
CPSC is aware of 5 deaths from suffocation and at least
23 cases where children recovered from their injuries
involving zippered bean bag chairs. The children who died
unzipped the bean bag chairs, crawled inside, inhaled and
ingested the small pellets of foam filling. In other cases
children choked while playing with pellets from unzipped
bean bag chairs which clogged their mouths and noses. None
of these deaths and incidents involved bean bag chairs
manufactured by Meri-Jon Artist Colony.
Meri-Jon Artist Colony has sold bean bag chairs
nationwide since 1980 at small retail furniture stores. The
chairs, which are sold in a variety of styles and colors,
can be identified by the manufacturer's label on the
product. Owners of Meri-Jon Artist Colony's bean bag
chairs can contact the company at (800) 476-4618 to receive
instructions for repairing their bean bag chairs. Bean bag
chairs manufactured and sold by Meri-Jon Artist Colony with
an outer zipper with no pull tab are not affected.
Any manufacturer's zippered bean bag chair that freely
opens should be taken away from children IMMEDIATELY.
Consumers should be aware that bean bag chairs
manufactured with a small, T-shaped plastic tab attached to
the zipper head are in need of repair. This repair program
does not affect bean bag chairs that have been retroffitted
to prevent children from freely opening them. Consumers who
are not sure whether their bean bag chairs are included in
this repair program or need help identifying their bean bag
chair's manufacturer should call CPSC's toll-free hotline at
(800) 638-2772 for assistance.