Drawcords are a trim decision until they are a product-safety decision. On children’s clothing they are both. Two documents dominate export work: the European standard EN 14682 (cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing) and the US standard ASTM F1816 (drawstrings on children’s upper outerwear). They are not identical. A hoodie that is legal in one market can be a recall in the other if you copy a spec blindly.
What EN 14682 is trying to prevent
The hazard is entrapment: a cord catching on a playground, a ski lift, a bus door, a car door or an escalator. EN 14682 therefore restricts cords and drawstrings by body zone and by age/height.
The widely applied reading — also summarised by European market-surveillance bodies such as Tukes — is:
- For younger children (the standard’s younger age/height band, commonly treated as up to 7 years or 134 cm), no cords or drawstrings in the hood or in the head and neck area. Cords meant to tie at the back of the neck are also out.
- For older children (7–14), no drawstrings with free ends in the head and neck area.
Hems, waist and legs are not a free-for-all. Long free ends can still catch. Decorative loops, functional belts and dummy cords all get classified; calling a hood cord a “trim detail” does not move it out of the standard.
CEN/TR 16446 exists as a technical report to help interpret EN 14682. If a lab and a designer disagree, that is the document to put on the table, not a Pinterest reference.
ASTM F1816 (United States)
ASTM F1816 addresses drawstrings on children’s upper outerwear (hoodies, jackets, sweatshirts). In the head and neck area, drawstrings are restricted for the age range the standard covers (commonly cited as ages 2–12 for that zone). Waist-level drawstrings have their own length and toggle rules. It is a US standard that retailers treat as a requirement; it is not a substitute for EN 14682 on EU goods.
What this means for a trim house
We can supply a beautiful round cord, a metal aglet and a spring stopper. We should not recommend them for a 4-year-old’s hood. The safer design is: no hood cord; a grown-on knitted opening; or, on older kids, a short, secured channel without free ends, checked against the standard’s measuring method.
Manufacturers, importers and distributors share the duty. If a buyer sends a tech pack with a forbidden cord, the professional answer is a redesign, not a cheaper toggle.
China’s GB 31701 also limits cords on infants’ and young children’s clothing (no cords in the head/neck area for the younger band). A program sold in several markets should be designed to the strictest zone, then labelled correctly.
If you already have stock with a hood cord on a small-child style, the market-surveillance advice to consumers is often to remove the cord. That is not a production plan. Do not cut it in the warehouse and relabel the size.