Flammability Updates & News

Important Updates on Compliance Standards Activities

On the compliance front, new national and (closely related) California state standards are still under consideration.

Federally, there is no ”hard date” set for major announcements on the national standard, according to the US CPSC’s Compliance Officer Marilyn Borsari in a recent conversation. There is a sense of a lull, but it is an artificial sense, as testing and computations continue apace toward the final formulation of a national standard. Remember, its ballpark time of implementation was thought to be not long after the coming into law of California AB 603—and AB 603 is under full steam (see below).

California, indeed, is on the move. In a recent conversation with Bureau of Home Furnishings’ Program Analyst Susan Lancara, I learned the following:

First of all, changes on Tech Bulletin 117 are currently on hold.

However, this is due to increasing emphasis on developing a bed clothing standard entitled Technical Bulletin 604, which is currently in rapid development. Public hearings will probably be held on TB 604 in early October (stay tuned).

As per AB 603, the April public hearings were held as stated in my previous column. Comments from 60 industry and public sources were received. The Bureau has been considering and evaluating these comments, and implementing indicated changes in the nascent standard. Next week (as of this writing, that would be approximately the week of June 8-14), these changes will be sent to the 60 commentators, giving them 15 days to respond to the changes.

Upon receiving and considering the responses, the Bureau will make any appropriate further changes, and then will present a finalized version to the California Office of Administrative Law, which in turn is expected to make a final determination sometime in September.
In other words, AB 603 is coming close to implementation: companies that sell their futons to the good people of California should waste no time preparing for compliance to AB 603.

Summer: A Time for Recalling the What, Where and Why

You may not be out fishing, but it’s summertime, vacation time. Almost everything moves at a more leisurely pace, gathering force for the storms of autumn and beyond.

Summer can be deceptive. However, it is an apt time to review a few points previously made in this column. The whys and wherefores are often forgotten in the hustle of everyday business, and in the confusion, anxieties build. So, let us return to clarifying simplicity...

The Benefits of Being Proactive

Our Industry, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, ISPA, the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and the US CPSC are all working together in the progress toward a new national standard. The industry input has been welcomed and applied by the government agencies to better adjust the standard to a real-world configuration.

This means that we have a hand in establishing legal standards for our industry that can be realistically applied by our industry members. That’s a huge bonus for us.

We have received plaudits from government and “watchdog” groups for our proactive stand. You will recall, from the Winter 2002 column, National Association of State Fire Marshals President Don Bliss’ comments at the ISPA Flammability Conference in October, 2002:
“You have been fair and honest… your analysis of the data will result in very tough standards that reflect the real world…you have stimulated innovation among your material suppliers, and are busy figuring out how to improve safety in an efficient way… we will stand up for you .…”
US CPSC Engineering Sciences Project Manager Margaret Neilly stated, in the column for Winter of 2001, “Our work with the industry... is a good example of how industry and government can work together effectively. The Sleep Products Safety Council has consulted with the CPSC staff throughout the NIST research activities, resulting in useful and necessary technical information. The industry’s commitment of resources is a significant contribution to the goal of reducing residential fire deaths in the United States.”

In other words, we help ourselves even as we help lawmakers set standards. And in this, we arrive at the next point I want to make—these changes in national law may be daunting, but they can actually be good for business.

Good Citizens in Your Customers’ Eyes

The Sleep Products Safety Council’s Pat Martin brought a number of “good-citizen” considerations together in our Fall 2001 interview with her, when she stated:

“By understanding these complex dynamics [of factors contributing to bedding fires], we hope to minimize the impact of an eventual standard on product design changes, so that mattresses continue to be attractive, supportive and comfortable as well as safe....”

Consumers have been saturated with information on product safety over the past few years: cars, electrical appliances, beds and bedding. The terrible facts of 9/11 have only heightened consumer awareness of safety issues, and every time you take the airlines for a business trip, and have to undergo the security checks, you are reminded of our national concern for security.

The fact is, while safety precautions are inconvenient, we are now a society that values security and safety as never before.

Therefore, a comprehensive standard is actually a selling point, and given the fact that our industry has gone the extra mile—been proactive—in the interest of assuring our customers’ comfort and security, it can be a big winner for our industry.

Preparedness is Golden

All this is good, of course, insofar as industry companies keep up with the current law—so they have the mechanism and the understanding to make the jump to the next level. Keep the wheels turning; be informed and prepared to take on the new standards. Playing “catch-up” can be mighty expensive, as production stops to re-tool the process, and inventories dwindle, and sales are lost.

Materials suppliers to manufacturers can help by clearly indicating the fire-retardant and/or resistant properties of the materials they supply. Manufacturers can help by supplying their retailers with guarantees that their products have been tested and succeed at fulfilling the requirements of applicable laws.

Retailers can help by ensuring that the above steps have taken place, and by assuring their customers that they are providing the best products, made to the most rigorous applicable standards, that money can buy.

Good or Bad News Depends on Us

The only news we want in the media is good news. In the absence of positive news on a subject, news people will look for the dramatic—because they are under pressure from their publishers to sell papers. Product recalls, fires and other negative items are fodder for this kind of thinking.

If we score high in public esteem for our proactive stance on compliance, that’s a real plus. However, negative news (such as recalls or fines) undoes much of our hard work. In the long run, noncompliance costs everybody more than compliance, as the competition (products positioned opposite futon sofa sleepers) wins.

In other words, while our industry prides itself on working hard and doing it right, we can also encourage our peers to toe the line—whether they need it or not. If we stand together as a united front of “good guys,” it can only benefit every single business in the industry. Conversely, the concept of “letting someone else do it” is a real dead end.

California Bureau of Home Furnishings’ Technical Coordinator John McCormack put it this way in our December, 2001 interview with him: “Working together to ensure products are safe not only protects consumers, but it can certainly contribute to a reputation for product quality and value.”

Be Informed; Also, a New Telephone Number for the US CPSC

It is important to get answers when you need them; I suggest you photocopy or scan the information below and tape it to your desk or countertop. We have given you these numbers before, but I know how often things get misplaced. So, again, here are the numbers for the agencies and organizations that can give you the further lowdown.

The US CPSC and the CA BHFTI both have web sites that provide actual texts of standards, and also provide ways of asking pertinent questions:

US CPSC www.cpsc.gov; phone (301) 504-7913 (new number); California Bureau of Home Furnishings www.dca.ca.gov/bhfti; phone (916) 574-2041; and ISPA’s Sleep Products Safety Council www.SafeSleep.org; phone (703) 683-8371.

Keep on Sluggin’

Our industry started in the traditional Mom and Pop way—in a cottage, in a garage; then we developed into a billion-industry, with factories, time clocks, tractor-trailers hauling shipments. We went national, then international. Our products have been hailed as the choice of sharp young (and not-so-young) consumers for years.

How’d we get here? By being flexible and responsive to change—in fact, that’s the message of futon furniture: it’s flexible, adaptable and yet keeps its edge.

The new laws coming down the pike are yet another change. And, as we have seen before, changes also present opportunities, new horizons. As we have always been adaptable, and good at finding answers to challenges, so, too, can we find the answers to maintaining the positive nature of our products while answering these challenges. This is, after all, the “information age,” and we can find what we need to know. Certainly, we have proven that “we got the moxie to do it.” We just need to “keep on sluggin’.”