The Recall Desk
CriticalCPSC·96093·Announced 1996-04-02

Meri-Jon Artist Colony Bean Bag Chairs Recalled for Suffocation Hazard

Meri-Jon Artist Colony is repairing 150,000 zippered bean bag chairs to prevent children from accessing foam pellets, which pose a suffocation risk.

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 states that CPSC is aware of 5 deaths from suffocation involving zippered bean bag chairs, which meets the rubric criterion for a score of 5 (Critical) due to known fatalities.

Plain-English summary

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Meri-Jon Artist Colony of Lexington, N.C., announced a cooperative repair program for 150,000 zippered bean bag chairs. The chairs are being recalled because the zippers can be opened by children, allowing them to access the small foam pellets inside. This presents a suffocation hazard if the pellets are inhaled, ingested, or if they clog the child's airway.

CPSC is aware of five deaths and at least 23 injuries involving zippered bean bag chairs from other manufacturers, where children crawled inside or choked on pellets. None of these specific deaths or incidents involved chairs manufactured by Meri-Jon Artist Colony. The affected chairs were sold nationwide since 1980 at small retail furniture stores and can be identified by the manufacturer's label. Chairs with an outer zipper that has no pull tab are not affected.

Consumers should immediately take any zippered bean bag chair that opens freely away from children. Owners of Meri-Jon Artist Colony chairs should call (800) 476-4618 to receive repair instructions. Consumers unsure if their chair is affected can call CPSC's toll-free hotline at (800) 638-2772 for assistance.

The recalled product

Product
Meri-Jon Artist Colony zippered bean bag chairs
Manufacturer
Meri-Jon Artist Colony
Category
Consumer Product — Furniture
Hazard

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same hazard · suffocation

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