CPSC Continues Flammability Process

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/10/2005 12:00:00 AM

New York —

Sheets, blankets, comforters, pillows, and quilts are included in the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for bedclothes that is being issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The ANPR is the first step in the rulemaking process that could lead to a proposed standard for the bedclothes category. The ANPR will allow CPSC to identify if there is a specific hazard and to collect information on it.

The CPSC vote to issue the ANPR for bedclothes came at the same time it voted to formally propose a national open flame mattress standard that became law on Jan. 1 in California.

The Home Fashion Products Association plans to comment on the ANPR and asks for the involvement of its members.

Said Robert Leo of Meeks & Sheppard, counsel to HFPA, “This shows that the issue is more important than ever. California only is working on filled product ... It is important for everyone to monitor the situation and weigh in on the issue.”

The CPSC first looked at mattresses in September 2002, not bedding. In '03 the Hollings bill was introduced that included bedclothes, and last year, the bill did not pass, but CPSC moved to examine the category of bedclothes.