ISPA announced that Congress approved a bill this past week to amend burdensome portions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The legislation passed by large margins in both the House and the Senate. Working with other consumer product trade associations, the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) and its members strongly supported efforts to amend the CPSIA. This action marks the first changes to the CPSIA since it was passed in 2008 and is a victory for the mattress industry.
The bill makes a number of helpful changes to the CPSIA that should benefit mattress manufacturers. Most prominently, the bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to assess the costs associated with its third-party testing requirements for products including children’s mattresses and adds new protections to promote accuracy in the consumer database created by the CPSIA. The bill also makes important changes to the CPSIA’s lead and phthalates restrictions.
Since the CPSIA’s enactment three years ago, ISPA lobbied both Congress and the CPSC to implement the law’s sweeping provisions in a manner that would not impose needless burdens on U.S. manufacturers.
“ISPA applauds Congress for finally altering several provisions of the CPSIA that imposed costly and redundant requirements on manufacturers, but did not improve consumer safety. This victory for our industry will add more common sense to the consumer product rules that the mattress industry must meet without compromising product safety,” noted ISPA President Ryan Trainer. “The grassroots support of ISPA members that contacted their elected officials was key to this bill becoming a reality, and demonstrates what can be accomplished when an industry works together for the common good.”
President Obama is expected to sign the measure shortly.
About ISPA: Established in 1915, the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the growth, profitability and stature of the mattress industry. As the industry’s trade organization, ISPA represents over 600 mattress manufacturers and suppliers throughout the world.
ISPA provides a wide range of services that benefit its membership. These include exclusive industry surveys and statistics, advocacy support, educational offerings, the industry’s ISPA EXPO trade show, safety research through its Sleep Products Safety Council, consumer research and education through its Better Sleep Council, BedTimes and Sleep Savvy publications, the ISPAEarth™ Industry Sustainability Initiative, and more.
To learn more, visit www.sleepproducts.org or contact info@sleepproducts.org.