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Will FR considerations favor single-sided beds?

David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2003

There's a major component of the one-sided bedding issue that we haven't yet considered in our recent coverage of Sealy's switch to a single-sided design for its new Posturepedic line.

That is the flame-resistant equation.

Simply put, some bedding observers contend that it will be cheaper to provide open-flame protection for single-sided than for two-sided mattresses.

If that is the case — and this view is by no means accepted by all or even many bedding observers — then the single-sided bandwagon is going to really pick up steam soon.

Basic economics are going to prevail when it comes to serving the broad U.S. bedding market. Sure, there will always be a place for high-end and niche products. But companies that want to serve the heart of the market must be keenly aware of the cost of raw materials. Heated competition has a way of giving consumers the best prices possible.

We've been asking producers and suppliers about the fire-resistant, or FR, implications of one- and two-sided bedding for the last month or so. Some producers have told us, without hesitation, that they believe the costs of treating both types of mattresses will be the same.

"All sides of a mattress must be open-flame resistant," one very knowledgeable producer told us.

But I've also heard from some of the suppliers of FR materials that they believe it will require fewer FR materials to treat a single-sided bed. Less material means less cost. And less cost usually means lower prices.

Now the big question is: Exactly what would the cost savings be? And we are not far enough along on this sensitive issue to know the answer to that key question. But I do know that if single-sided beds can meet California's stringent new open-flame standards, scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2004, at a significantly lower cost than two-sided beds, that will provide a major boost to the single-sided construction.

Until we know exactly what the California standards are and producers can test various bedding constructions to see how they fare, the issue of whether single-sided beds could have a price advantage vis-à-vis FR materials will remain unresolved.

Needless to say, a lot is riding on that question.

As one of my bedding friends said the other day, "These are very interesting times in the mattress business."

Amen to that. The resolution of this issue will be fascinating to observe. Will there be a clear-cut answer? Or will different FR solutions provide a variety of answers?

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