SAN ANTONIO – Millions of furniture anchor kits designed to protect children from furniture tip-overs are recalled because the plastic zip ties can break.
The New Age restraint kits were used by 31 different furniture companies after November 2019.
The restraint kits included a plastic zip-tie, two brackets and two screws and were sold with clothing storage units such as dressers and chests. The plastic zip tie can become brittle or break, which can allow a clothing storage unit that is anchored to the wall to detach during a furniture tip-over.
Consumers should immediately check clothing storage furniture for a date of manufacture sticker or stamp of November 2019 or later, and if, so, whether the tip kit is made of plastic. If it is made of plastic, consumers can contact Alliance4Safety for a free replacement tip kit and click on “New Age Recall Information” or call 855-416-7370.
Furniture companies that used the recalled anti-tip kits include: American Drew; American Woodcrafters, Amini Innovation Corp.; Ashley Furniture Industries; Aspenhome; Austin Group Furniture; Avalon International Inc.; Bassett Furniture Industries; Drew and Jonathan by Hooker Furnishings; Emery Park; FD Home Corp.; Flexsteel Industries Inc.; Furniture Values International; Homelegance USA; Hooker Furnishings; Kincaid Furniture; LC Direct Furniture; Legacy Classic/Modern Furniture; Liberty Furniture Industries; Magnussen Home Furnishings Inc.; New Classic Home Furnishings Inc.; Parker House Furniture; Progressive Furniture; Pulaski Furniture; Riverside Furniture; Samuel Lawrence; Springhill Designs; Standard Furniture Manufacturing Co.; Universal Furniture; Van Thiel & Co.; and Vanguard Furniture Co.
Safety advocates encourage households with small children to anchor furniture to the wall, preferably with kits that include nylon straps or wire cables.
More than 200 children have been killed in furniture tip overs in the past 20 years and more than 5000 go to the emergency room for related injuries each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.