 Originally designed in the 1960's by a fashion design team, bean bag chairs have come a long way. It was a pear-shaped leather bag that was originally called "Sacco," which is Italian for "bag".
The "Sacco" caught on in a big way... so much so that in order to mass produce them, the Italian design team switched to vinyl coverings instead of leather, and filled them with polystyrene "beans" to save on manufacturing costs.
It was with these changes that the term "bean bag chair" was created. "Bean" was from the millions of tiny polystyrene pellets inside, "bag" which comes from the original Italian name "Sacco," and chair.
Bean bag chairs soon became a cultural icon of the 70's. It grew in popularity because of its comfort, uniqueness and low cost.
Soon, more and more companies began manufacturing bean bag chairs and adding them to their interior design lines. After a lull in popularity in the 80's, bean bag chairs boomed again in the 90's after a huge "retro fad" kicked in.
 With this additional increase in popularity, manufacturers again stepped up production. However, it was this time that these manufacturers began cutting corners to save money, which created safety hazards for small children. These cheap bean bag chairs were carried by Wal-Mart from September 1999 to December 1999, and were sold for just $30.
Kids could easily unzip these bean bag chairs, creating endless safety hazards. Many children would crawl inside their bean bag chairs and suffocate on the tiny pellets inside.
Others would be rough with their bean bag chairs, causing them to rip open. Small kids would play in the spilled pellets, often putting them in their nose or mouth.
These many incidents led to several unfortunate deaths of toddlers and small children. Finally, in 1999, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled over 30,000 bean bag chairs made by specific, cost cutting manufacturers. As of now, all of these companies no longer sell bean bags.
When looking for kids bean bag chairs for your children, you should have a safety checklist readily available. Make sure your next bean bag chairs has the following before you buy:
 Foam Filling- gone are the days where dangerous "beans" are used in bean bag chairs. Now, the chairs are produced with softer, safer foam on the inside.
Double Stitched Seams- added for more durability. Kids won't be able to rip the bean bags open like before, so the filling won't spill out into the open.
Child-proof zippers- new double-locking zippers have been used so that small children cannot unzip their bean bags.
Today's discount bean bag chairs are not only more comfortable, but they're now designed with your child's safety in mind.
This article was inspired by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which holds the responsibility of protecting consumers from risk and injury from poorly created consumer products. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers from products that pose a safety hazard to them or their families.
To report a dangerous bean bag chair or product-related injury, please call the CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772, or visit their website, www.cpsc.gov/talk.html.
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