Update on Mattress Flammability Issues at the Federal, State and International Levels

摘要

The U.S. mattress industry has now implemented a new flammability standard promulgated by the Consumer ProductSafetyCommission (CPSC) that requires mattresses produced on and after July 1, 2007 to resist ignition from an open-flame heatsource (such as a match, lighter, or candle). This is the single largest regulatory change that the mattress industry has facedin at least 30 years, imposing significant new product design and testing, record keeping, quality assurance, and labelingrequirements. In addition, the industry faces a number of other important legislative and regulatory issues that could affecthow we transport and distribute our products at retail, the specific materials we use to make mattresses that meet the federalflammability rules, the impact that compliance with the federal rules can have on our vulnerability to product liabilitylitigation, whether other federal flammability rules can be modified to make them more effective and less burdensome onindustry, and how imports and exports of mattresses will be regulated.