Give your views: Fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture
07/08/2023
The UK Government is seeking views on a new proposed approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture and furnishings. The consultation is now open and closes on 24 October 2023.
The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 were introduced to protect consumers from injury and death resulting from highly flammable upholstered furniture. Important changes are required to take account of modern day hazards and risks. This consultation seeks views from a wide range of stakeholders on the proposed new approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, in particular:
- the scope of the regulations
- the essential safety requirements
- the conformity assessment procedure
- the labelling requirements
- the technical file requirements
- the proposed timescales for the implementation of and transition to the new regulations
- measures to encourage and enable a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants
This new approach is based on safety outcomes that will be underpinned by a set of essential safety requirements which all products in scope of the regulations must meet in order to be placed on the market. It will maintain and improve fire safety for consumers by better representing the safety of the product as it appears in their homes, while facilitating manufacturing innovation and a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants.
The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture and furnishings consultation is accompanied by a second review on the UK product safety regulations to ensure the new product safety framework works well both for consumers and business. Read more here.