The Recall Desk
CriticalCPSC·95093·Announced 1995-03-16

CPSC Announces Repair Program for Zippered Bean Bag Chairs

CPSC and manufacturers are repairing over 10 million zippered bean bag chairs to prevent child suffocation and choking.

What this means for you

Highest-severity recall. Risk of serious injury or death is documented or strongly suspected. Stop using the product now and follow the agency's instructions.

Our severity reasoning: The source text explicitly reports five deaths associated with the product, which mandates a Critical severity score per the rubric.

Plain-English summary

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and nine manufacturers have announced a voluntary repair program for at least 10 million zippered bean bag chairs. The recall addresses a hazard where children and toddlers can unzip the covers, crawl inside, and suffocate from inhaling foam pellets, or choke on escaping pellets that clog their mouths and noses.

CPSC is aware of five deaths and at least 27 other incidents involving children and toddlers inhaling or ingesting the bean bag filling. The affected products were sold nationwide in retail stores including Caldor, F.W. Woolworth, Harts Stores, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Montgomery Ward, Rich's, Sears Roebuck and Co., Toys 'R' Us, and Walmart between 1971 and 1994.

Consumers should stop using any bean bag chair with a zipper that freely opens and keep them away from children immediately. To participate in the repair program, consumers should check the chair for a manufacturer label and call the specific 800 number listed for that company to receive repair instructions. If unsure whether a chair is included, consumers can call CPSC's toll-free hotline at (800) 638-2772.

The recalled product

Product
Ace Bayou zippered bean bag chairs
Manufacturer
Harts
Category
Consumer Product — Furniture
Hazard

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same hazard · suffocation

See all →