CPSC, L.L. Bean Inc. Announce Recall of Director’s Chairs, Replacement Seats

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Director’s Chairs and Replacement Director’s Chair Padded Seats

Units: About 3,500

Retailer: L.L. Bean Inc., of Freeport, Maine

Distributor: Rio Brands, of Philadelphia, Pa.

Hazard: The wooden dowels in the fabric seats are too small and can break or slide out of the fabric sleeves; the fabric seat can tear from the wooden seat frame; and the chair frame also can break at the backrest upright, the armrest and at the leg axis. These failures can cause the chair’s occupant to fall to the floor, and possibly sustain injuries.

Incidents/Injuries: L.L. Bean received 10 reports of the dowels breaking, two reports of the fabric tearing and four reports of frame breakage, which involve eight people falling from the chairs. There have been no reports of injury.

Description: The recalled director’s chair is a folding chair with a solid natural-colored wood frame. They have cotton duck fabric seats and backs in navy, red, green and natural colors. The seats are padded and unpadded, and replacement padded seats were sold separately. The director’s chair measures 34-inches-high, 24-inches-wide and 19-inches-deep with an 18-inch seat height. The replacement padded seats are navy red, green and natural canvas. The recalled director’s chair includes models XS78 and VU67and the recalled replacement seat includes model XS79, which can be found on the label underneath the seat.

Sold at: L.L. Bean catalog, Web site and L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine from February 2004 through September 2004 for $79 for the padded and $59 for the unpadded chair and $29 for the padded replacement seat.

Manufactured In: China and the United States

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the director’s chair and the padded replacement seat immediately and contact L.L. Bean to receive a full refund or an L.L. Bean gift certificate.

Consumer Contact: Consumers should contact L.L. Bean toll-free at (800) 555-9717 anytime or visit the company’s Web site at www.llbean.com/recall for more information.