FR (mis)information
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2005
North Highlands, Calif. — The California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation is doing its part to educate retailers about the state's new open flame mattress standard.
The Bureau posted a "Retailer Advisory" on its Web site — www.bhfti.ca.gov — last fall that spells out key details of the new law. Among other points, it notes that mattresses, box springs and futons produced prior to Jan. 1 and for sale now don't have to meet the stringent new standard — only products made starting this month.
Bureau officials have repeatedly said that retailers will have time to sell off any non-compliant inventory they built up last year.
But that point got lost in a Santa Maria, Calif., television station's report on the new law late last year. The CBS affiliate's report said, incorrectly, that mattresses that don't meet the standards must be returned to the manufacturer if they aren't sold. The law says nothing about shipping old mattresses back to the manufacturer.
That story also quoted the manager of a California bedding store who said that retail floors would have to be totally switched over to display the new FR beds. That was also untrue — beds produced before Jan. 1, 2005 can still be displayed and sold on retail floors in California.
The Bureau offers these answers to frequently asked questions on its Web site:
Q: How will the Bureau enforce the new law?
A: All businesses that wholesale, import or retail bedding and upholstered furniture to California consumers must be licensed by the Bureau. The Bureau will inspect retail stores to verify compliance with the new California mattress flammability law. Inspectors will check for proper labeling of products covered by the law. Business records such as invoices must be available for inspection. Such records may be consulted to verify that merchandise was manufactured prior to Jan. 1, 2005.
Q: What happens if a retailer is found to be in violation of the new law?
A: Violations could result in the retailer being cited, fined, ordered to withhold products from sale, and having its license revoked.
Q: How can the new FR-protected beds be identified?
A: Consumers — and state inspectors — will be looking for a new law label that features a compliance statement and specifies the date of manufacture. This label is required for bedding products manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 2005 for sale in California.
Q: Do products manufactured in other states or imported from other countries have to comply with the new mattress flammability law?
A: Yes. If the mattress, mattress/box spring set or futon was manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 2005 and is being sold in California, it must comply with the new standard.
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