Furniture and Furnishings

What does the law require?

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery.

Which products are covered?

Any of the following that contain upholstery:

• furniture intended for private use in a dwelling, including children's furniture;
• beds, head-boards of beds, mattresses (of any size);
• sofa-beds, futons and other convertibles;
• nursery furniture;
• garden furniture which is suitable for use in a dwelling;
• furniture in new caravans (motor homes are excluded);
• scatter cushions and seat pads;
• pillows;
• loose and stretch covers for furniture.

The regulations do not apply to:

• sleeping bags;
• bed-clothes (including duvets);
• loose covers for mattresses;
• pillowcases;
• curtains;
• carpets;
• exports of furniture;
• furniture made before 1950, and re-upholstery of furniture made before that date.

Which suppliers are affected?

The regulations apply to all persons in the business supply chain from the supply of materials (such as filling materials, fabrics) for use in furniture and furnishings through to supply of the finished article (including manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers of second-hand furniture including auctioneers and some charities and re-upholsterers).

The regulations also apply to persons who hire out furniture in the course of a business of theirs. This embraces furniture included in accommodation let in the course of business, such as holiday homes and residential furnished lettings (including houses, flats and bed-sits). The regulations therefore apply to landlords, estate agents and letting agents who let such accommodation during the course of a business of theirs. More guidance on the responsibilities of managing agents and landlords can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/intro.htm .

Special note for Charities

In the Department of Trade and Industry's view, the simple distribution of second-hand furniture by a charity in pursuance of its charitable objectives to needy persons, either free of charge or at a nominal amount only, would be unlikely to constitute a supply in the course of business. On the other hand, shops selling furniture to raise funds for charitable purposes would constitute a business activity and the Regulations will apply to the furniture sold in this case. Individual charities should take legal advice on the circumstances surrounding all their particular operations.

Composition/Performance Requirements

What suppliers of filling materials need to know

The regulations contain specific test requirements for:

• Any filling material supplied direct to consumers (whether foam or non-foam) for use in furniture or re-upholstery.
• All foam fillings that are supplied to furniture manufacturers and re-upholsterers.

Non-foam fillings that are supplied to furniture manufacturers and re-upholsterers do not need to pass any fire resistance test.

Suppliers of filling material (whether they supply direct to consumers or to business users) are strongly advised to ask the purpose for which the filling material is sought and give advice to the user about its suitability for use in furniture etc.

What suppliers of furnishings fabrics need to know

• The regulations contain specific test requirements for any fabric supplied to provide or replace the permanent cover on furniture (except mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, cushions and baby nests). The requirements vary depending on how the fabric will be used and the fabric's composition. This applies to supplies to both the trade and to consumers.
• Suppliers need to ask the purpose for which the fabric is sought and give advice about its suitability for use on furniture, and the conditions under which it can so be used.

What suppliers of domestic upholstered furniture need to know (this does not apply to mattresses, bed-bases, pillows and cushions)

The regulations apply to domestic furniture that contains any amount of filling material and includes articles such as music stools, foot stools and pouffes, bean bags and floor cushions, which are intended for private use in a dwelling. The Regulations also apply to domestic upholstered furniture that is supplied in kit form for self-assembly.

• Domestic upholstered furniture (whether complete or ordered with the customers' own choice of cover fabric) must:
  • pass the appropriate cigarette test(s);
  • contain only filling material which passes the appropriate test(s); and
  • the cover fabric of this furniture must also pass the appropriate match test(s) and carry the appropriate display and permanent labels.
• Cover fabric on all parts of upholstered furniture (whether or not the cover is over a filling material) must be match resistant, and the upholstery must be cigarette resistant.
• Removable covers that are supplied with the furniture are regarded as permanent covers for the purposes of the regulations. Also, replacement covers that are supplied by the manufacturer of the furniture at a later date should be regarded as permanent covers. Note: removable covers that are supplied by a producer other than the manufacturer of the furniture must be classed as loose covers.
• Any material that is included for the purpose of filling or stuffing the upholstered parts of the furniture must pass the appropriate test(s). This includes pads for insulating springs, tack rolls and piping cords that are contained within the cover fabric of the furniture.

What suppliers of mattresses and bed-bases need to know

• Filling material in these items must meet the same tests described above for upholstered furniture.
• The regulations do not contain specific fire resistance requirements relating to the cover fabric of bed-bases and mattresses. However, the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 place a general duty on suppliers of consumer products to supply only products that are safe. The GPS Regulations specify that aspects of safety of products that are not subject to specific regulations will be assessed taking into account published standards of safety relating to those products. BS 7177, which lays down specifications for the cigarette and match resistance of bed-bases and mattresses, may be an appropriate standard for this purpose.

What suppliers of pillows, scatter cushions and seat pads need to know

• The regulations apply only to the filling material of pillows, scatter cushions and pads of the type supplied for use on the seats of wooden chairs.
• Foam fillings must pass the specified test.
• When non-foam fillings are used either the filling material itself must pass the appropriate test or, if the item has primary cover, then the filling material together with that primary cover must pass the specified test.

The regulations do not apply to the decorative cover of scatter cushions and seat pads, or to covers for these items that are sold separately.

What suppliers of bean bags and floor cushions need to know

The requirements for these items are the same as those for domestic upholstered furniture.

What suppliers of loose covers and stretch covers for furniture need to know

• Loose covers for upholstered furniture must be match-resistant when tested over standard polyurethane foam.
• Stretch covers that meet the elasticity specification in BS 4723 should be tested over combustion-modified foam for match resistance. There are, however, different requirements for removable covers that are supplied with the furniture.

The regulations do not apply to pillow-cases or loose covers for mattresses and bed-bases.

What re-upholsterers need to know

Any upholstery materials that the upholsterer supplies or adds to the furniture in the course of refurbishing it must pass the appropriate test(s). Where only re-covering is requested by the customer, the re-upholsterer is not obliged to replace any non-conforming filling material that the furniture may contain. However, it is advisable to draw the fire risk to the customer's attention. Any filling material that the re-upholsterer adds to the existing filling must meet the new requirements. In ordering upholstery materials the re-upholsterer should seek advice from his supplier about their suitability for use in furniture.

Labelling requirements

Display labels

• All new furniture (except mattresses and bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions and seat pads, loose covers and stretch covers) must carry a display label at the point of sale. It is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that furniture on display carries the correct label.
• Furniture sold as a collection of items, such as three-piece suites, must carry the appropriate display label on each individual item.
• The display label must be attached to the furniture in a prominent position so that it will be clearly visible to a potential purchaser of the furniture and the wording on both sides can be read with reasonable ease.

Permanent labels

• All new furniture (except mattresses and bed-bases), and loose and stretch covers must carry a permanent label. It is primarily the responsibility of the first supplier (i.e. the manufacturer or the importer) to ensure that the label gives the necessary information, but retailers are also under a duty to ensure that the permanent label is on the goods when they supply them to the consumers.
• Suppliers can choose between two versions of the permanent label:
  • either a label giving full information about the furniture; or
  • a shorter label giving only the minimum information about the furniture. Where the first supplier decides to use the shorter label, any person who supplies that furniture must make available to the enforcement agency, on request, certain information about the furniture (see Information requirements at point of sale).
• The regulations contain a full description of what must be included in these labels and specify matters such as the size of print to be used. (Examples of the labels are shown below).
• The label must be securely attached to the furniture (i.e. cannot be removed without causing damage to the label or the product). It may appear on any external surface of the article. In the case of seating furniture the platform underneath any removable seating cushions may be regarded as an external surface for this purpose.
• Furniture sold as a collection of items, such as three-piece suites, must carry a label on each individual item.
• In the case of loose or stretch covers the label may appear on the underside of the fabric.

Follow this link for examples of display and permanent labels www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/labels.htm#perm .

Reduced information for some articles

Certain articles do not require all the above information to be given. Consult the DTI guidance at www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/labels.htm#perm.

Information requirements at point of sale

Any person who supplies new furniture (or loose covers or stretch covers) that carries the shorter permanent label must make available to an enforcement agency, on request, certain information about the furniture (or loose or stretch covers). This information, which should be readily available for inspection, concerns the following details:

• the name and the postal code of the address of the first supplier (i.e. manufacturer or importer);
• the date on which the article was manufactured or imported;
• the description of all the filling materials included in the article; and
• the description of all the covering materials included in the article.

Certain articles do not require all of the above information to be provided - see the DTI guidance at www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/info_sale.htm for further information.

Retailers therefore need to ensure that the manufacturer or importer (or any intermediary supplier) provides the above details for supplies of furniture that carry the shorter label. Retailers must retain this information.

Information requirements for manufacturers and importers

• Generally manufacturers and importers of furniture must make available to the enforcement agency, on request, information to show their products meet the requirements of the Regulations and how compliance has been assured.
• This information includes:
  • the results of any relevant test that has been carried out on the furniture or its components;
  • how these test results are related to particular pieces of furniture;
  • how any records are related to the information given on labels, batch numbers or marks appearing on the furniture.
• This information must be retained for a period of five years from the date on which the manufacturer or importer supplies the furniture to the retailer or wholesaler.

The regulations do not require this information to be provided for mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, and loose or stretch covers for furniture.

Test requirements

The regulations detail test to be applied to:

• Filling materials.
• Upholstery.
• Cover fabrics.

The details of the test are not produced here but can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/tests.htm.

Please Note

This leaflet is not an authoritative interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance. For further information please contact your local Consumer Protection or Trading Standards office.

The DTI's guidance booklet on The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/access/furniture/intro.htm .

Trading Standards Division, 3rd Floor, Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 8ED
Telephone: (0151) 691 8020    Fax: (0151) 691 8098
Internet World Wide Web http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/wirral/
Electronic Mail: tradingstandards@wirral.gov.uk