Upholstered Furniture

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Upholstered Furniture

• Background on Construction, Flammability and FR
  Regulations

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The U.S. Upholstered Furniture Industry

• 1500 Plants Employing 175,000
• 30 Million Units Produced Annually
• 800 Million Units Currently in Use

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Plants Are Assembly Operations

• Frames, Fabrics, Cushioning Sourced From
  Suppliers
• Automated Cutting, Labor-Intensive Pattern
  Matching, Sewing, Tufting

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We Rely on Our Suppliers For

• Product Development
• Testing
• Just-In-Time Delivery

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Relevant to Flammability Regulation

• Set Component Standards
• These Can Be Informed By Composite Testing

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Flammability
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Fire and Chemical Risks

• AHFA Flammability Seminar
• National Research Council
• Design for the Environment

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A Challenging Task

• Testing and Analysis Ongoing Since the 1970s
• Performance Must Be Verifiable By Test Methods
• Testing Results Variable and Conflicting

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Fabrics

• Variety
• Variability
• Geometric Complexities
• Interaction with Other Components

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Cushioning Materials

• Are a Potential
• Fuel Load

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Ignition Sources

• Cigarettes (Smoldering Ignition)
• Matches and Lighters (Small Open Flames)

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Behavioral Aspects

• Arson
• Youth Fireplay
• No Working Smoke Detectors

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Cigarette Risks
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Small Open Flame Risks
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Behind the Decline

• Greater Smoke Detector Use
• Child-Safe Lighters
• Fire-Safe Cigarette Laws

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UFAC Program

• Consensus Standard Under ASTM
• Fiber Substitutions
• Smolder Barriers
• 85-90 Percent Compliance

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The Key Factor

• U.S. Smoking Prevalence
• 1980 33.2
• 2003 21.6

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Less Smoking Means Fewer Furniture Fires
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Fire-Safe Cigarettes

• Required in Canada, NY, CA IL, VT, NH
• Legislation Pending in Other States

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Fire-Safe Cigarettes

• Should Reduce Mattress and Bedding Fires
• Rapid Turnover of Inventory Means Faster Impact

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FR Regulations

• Any Impact is Dwarfed by Lower Smoking Rates and
  Higher Smoke Detector Usage

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FR Regulations

• Lab Tests Show FR Foams Not Effective
• CPSC No significant effect of different
  filling materials FR foams taken from
  California and U.K. chairs did not improve
  ignition resistance or cause mock-ups to
  self-extinguish .

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Consumer Purchases

• Driven By Fashion, Aesthetics
• 5 percent Replacement Rate for Median Income
  Households
• 2.5 percent for Households with Income lt 20,000

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Consumer Purchases

• Will Also be Deferred if Expectations of Style
  and Comfort are Not Met

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Questions?

• Russell Batson
• American Home Furnishings Alliance
• [phone], ext. 113
• batsonr_at_ahfa.us