Today, Ikea announced that it’s recalling 29 million chests and dressers, including 8 million units from the popular Malm series, which sold for between $70 and $200 each. This unprecedented recall comes after a string children’s deaths and injuries caused by toppled Ikea dressers and chests—all of which hadn’t been anchored to the wall.
The latest death came this past February, when a 22-month-old boy in Minnesota died under a tipped-over Malm 6-drawer chest. Over the years, Ikea has also received reports of 41 tip-over incidents—including 17 injuries to children between the ages of 19 months and 10 years old—involving Malm chests and dressers, which do not meet voluntary industry safety standards. (According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey Jr. is pushing for mandatory stability standards for dresser manufacturers in new legislation introduced this month.)
In July 2015, under pressure from safety advocates and media scrutiny, Ikea launched a repair program that offered free wall-anchoring kits for its chests and dressers. As the most recent tragedy in Minnesota suggests, however, the safety campaign was not enough.
In today’s announcement, the Swedish furniture giant advises consumers to immediately stop using recalled chests and dressers that haven’t been properly anchored to the wall in areas accessible to children. The affected models have also been removed from the company’s website.
Consumers who purchased a recalled Ikea dresser or chest manufactured between January 2002 and June 2016 are entitled to a full refund. Those who purchased a recalled item manufactured before January 2002 are eligible for a partial store credit.
Full details of the recall can be found here. You can also request a free dresser anchoring kit from Ikea here.
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