Strangulation Death of a Child Prompts Hill Sportswear To Recall Hooded Sweatshirts with Drawstrings

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #09129) was formally reported on February 12, 2009. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Hill Sportswear Inc., of Paramount, Calif. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 120,000 units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: The sweatshirts have drawstrings through the hood. The drawstrings should be removed immediately since they can become caught on objects and strangle a child. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Due to the serious nature of this hazard, parents are urged to immediately remove the drawstrings from the sweatshirts or return the garment to either the place of purchase or to Hill Sportswear for … — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 17 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.