ISPA Position on
Flammability

Issue: 

Mattress Flammability Regulation

Importance:

Making a safe and healthful product has long been the mattress industry’s objective.  The industry recognizes that its own interests are best served by being actively engaged in product safety issues.  The industry supports improved consumer safety by funding scientific research into mattress flammability issues, promoting public education programs that encourage consumers to use our products responsibly, and working with regulators and the safety community to develop practical and effective safety standards.

ISPA Position: 

ISPA supports the national flammability standards for mattresses codified at 16 C.F.R. Parts 1632 and 1633 promulgated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) [linked text].  Part 1632 requires that mattresses resist a smoldering cigarette ignition, which has been in place since the mid-1970s.  Part 1633, which will become effective July 1, 2007, requires that mattresses resist an open-flame ignition.  ISPA also seeks a national standard that addresses the flammability of bedclothes (top-of-the-bed products such as pillows, comforters and mattress pads), given that these are usually the first items ignited in a bedroom fire.

Background:

The mattress industry takes its product stewardship responsibilities seriously.  For over 30 years, the mattress industry has actively supported regulatory efforts to develop flammability standards, public education initiatives and basic scientific research targeted at reducing residential fire casualties and property loss.  In the early 1970s, we participated in the development of 16 C.F.R. Part 1632.   

In 1986, the mattress industry established the Sleep Products Safety Council (SPSC) whose mission is to provide consumer safety information, support research and promote activities aimed at reducing hazards associated with mattresses and other sleep products. 

In the late 1990s, the industry began to commission research into the causes and dynamics of open-flame ignitions of mattresses and began discussions with regulators about the possible development of a national open-flame standard.  That research provided much of the basis for Part 1633.

Read a History of Proactive Industry Involvement for more details.  Also see important milestones in mattress fire safety.

ISPA Action:

ISPA supported the establishment of a national mattress flammability standard.  The mattress industry believed that as an industry that is national in scope, any product safety standards that our products must meet must be uniform national requirements.  As a result, the industry has opposed piecemeal efforts by state legislatures to set their own – and often different – local standards. 

Today, mattresses must meet both the cigarette and open-flame standards.  In an effort to simplify matters, the mattress industry is working with the CPSC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on research that may provide a scientific basis for the CPSC to modify (and possibly rescind) the Part 1632 cigarette-ignition standard. 

Go to the Sleep Products Safety Council (SPSC) website www.SafeSleep.org for information about programs and materials available through the SPSC, including the latest available data on fire safety for the consumer, the media and members of the sleep products community. The site includes a Kids' Page and Teacher's Lounge, featuring interactive games, quizzes and lesson plans to target at-risk populations.

In addition, the SPSC has developed a website www.MattressRegulation.org designed specifically to help consumers understand Part 1633, why it was developed, how it benefits consumers, and why they must continue to be vigilant about fire safety.

For more information contact:

Ryan Trainer, ISPA Executive VP and General Counsel (rtrainer@sleepproducts.org)