CPSC Safety Standard for CSU's Now Final

Furniture World News Desk on 6/12/2023

Editor's Note: CPSC Small Business Ombudsman Stephen Lee confirmed yesterday that the new standard applies to all covered products with a manufacture date on or after September 2, 2023.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received no “significant adverse comments” on its federal safety standard for clothing storage furniture by the June 5, 2023, deadline and, as a result, the new standard will take effect on September 2, 2023.

CPSC Small Business Ombudsman Stephen Lee confirmed the rule’s effective date this morning in an email to Bill Perdue, vice president of regulatory affairs for the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA).

The new federal safety standard for clothing storage furniture is based on ASTM International’s F2057-23 voluntary standard. All products within the scope of the standard with a manufacture date on or after September 1 must meet the stability and labeling requirements within the rule.

Those requirements will be reviewed and demonstrated at an August 9-10 Regulatory Summit hosted by the American Home Furnishings Alliance exclusively for its member companies. AHFA led the opposition to the CPSC’s original CSU rule, which would have resulted in a required “stability rating” for a wide range of products beyond just clothing storage units. The rating was derived from a complex set of performance tests and calculations that were found to produce inconsistent results.

When the CPSC proceeded with the rule despite objections from AHFA and other stakeholders, the Alliance filed for a judicial review and a stay of the rule’s May 23, 2023, effective date. While pursuing this legal remedy, the Alliance also continued collaborating with parents, child safety advocates, retail members of the Home Furnishings Association and others to secure passage of the STURDY Act, which was amended in 2022 to require the CPSC to adopt the revised voluntary standard as the new mandatory rule, as long as that voluntary standard was found to meet the performance requirements within STURDY.

These advocacy efforts eventually resulted in adoption of the STURDY Act and the agency’s approval of ASTM F2057-23. The final rule incorporating F2057-23 by reference was published in the Federal Register on May 4 and needed only to clear the June 5 deadline for “significant adverse comments” to confirm its September effective date.

About The American Home Furnishings Alliance
The American Home Furnishings Alliance, based in High Point, N.C., represents more than 200 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.