Lululemon Recalls Drawstring on Hoodies Due to Face Injury Risk
Lululemon is recalling metal or plastic cord strings sold from 2008 to 2014.
— -- Lululemon Athletica is recalling elastic draw cords in its hoodies, not the hoodies themselves, saying they can cause a possible face injury when snapped back.
The draw cords around the neck area have a hard metal or plastic tip.
"When the elastic draw cord with a hard tip in the hood or around the neck area is pulled or caught on something and released, it can snap back, impact the face area and result in injury," according to a statement from the Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) on Thursday. There have been seven reported injuries to the face and eye, the CPSC said.
Lululemon said those were not serious injuries and there have been no lawsuits associated with them.
Lululemon said it voluntarily contacted the commission to take "proactive steps to prevent any potential harm to our guests."
"Our main priority is ensuring our product works for our guests, and we believe this is the necessary proactive action,” Lululemon said in a statement provided by a spokeswoman. “We are committed to making our product right for our guests and regret any inconvenience this may have caused them.”
The company last had a recall in March 2013 for Luon yoga pants that customers said became sheer when bending over. Lululemon founder Chip Wilson said months later, "Frankly, some women's bodies just don't actually work [for the yoga pants]."
The company is advising customers to remove the elastic draw cord and contact Lululemon by email (gec@lululemon.com) or by phone (877-263-9300) to request a free, new, non-elastic one with written instructions on how to replace the draw cord, the company said. Customers can refer to written instructions on Lululemon's website. If customers have trouble with the instructions, store staff can help replace the new draw cord. A variety of products with the elastic draw cord were sold between January 2008 and December 2014 for $75 to $260, the CPSC said. Lululemon said the majority of the products with this drawstring were sold before 2014 and they are no longer sold.
Those products are: the Carry and Go Hoodie; Cool Down Jacket; Course-ette Jacket; Cozy Up Jacket; Dance Studio Jacket; Dance Sweat Shirt; Don’t Hurry Be Happy Pullover; Gratitude Wrap; Necessity Jacket; Proactive Jacket; Refresh Snap Up; Run Sun Blocker Pullover; Run Track N Field Jacket; Run With It Jacket; Sanctuary Jacket; Savasana Tunic; Sing, Floss, Travel Jacket; Stow ’N Go Jacket; Stride Jacket; Summertime Tunic; Varsity Hoodie; Victory Jacket and Wear With All Jacket.
There were about 133,000 sold in the U.S. and 185,000 in Canada, Lululemon said, adding that they don't consider replacing the draw cords to be material to their business.
