CertiPUR-US® Program Begins Certifying Biobased Foams

Furniture World News Desk on 9/11/2023

The CertiPUR-US® foam certification program is now certifying biobased slabstock flexible polyurethane foam. To achieve biobased foam certification, foams must meet all current criteria for foam certification and contain a minimum of 25% biobased content.

U.S.-based foam producers Future Foam, FXI, NCFI Polyurethanes and Mexico-based Kuka Home are the first to offer CertiPUR-US certified biobased foam, having participated in the pilot program which was launched earlier this year.

“We praise the foam producers who are early adopters and expect many other foam producers to follow,” said CertiPUR-US Executive Director Michael Crowell. “We are confident that bedding and upholstered furniture manufacturers will see the tremendous environmental and marketing benefits in using biobased foam and will create demand for this category of certified foams.”

All certified foams must undergo emissions testing, chemical analysis and physical property testing to meet the rigorous standards set forth in the program’s Technical Guidelines. In addition, all biobased foams are tested by Beta Analytic laboratories in Miami to determine the percentage of biocontent.

Beta Analytic, an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory, provides radiocarbon dating and biobased testing services. The biobased content of product ingredients is based on the ASTM D6866-22 Method B standard, which uses an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) instrument to measure how much of the carbon within a product is derived from biomass. The result indicates the percentage of the product’s biobased carbon versus fossil-derived carbon. 

Certified biobased foams will have permission to use an exclusive, new CertiPUR-US logo, which will be an easily recognized adaptation of the current CertiPUR-US logo and only used in association with products that contain certified biobased foams.

As with all certified foams, once a biobased foam is certified, it must be recertified six months later and annually thereafter. Random verification testing is conducted by the CertiPUR-US program to ensure continued compliance. Producers and their customers also must agree to new Terms of Use, which establish guidelines on how a CertiPUR-US biobased foam may be marketed.

The CertiPUR-US program, now celebrating its fifteenth year, is administered by a nonprofit organization. For more information about certified biobased foam and to contact foam producers currently offering certified biobased foam, visit  certipur.us/biobased. 

About CertiPUR-US
CertiPUR-US is a certification program for flexible polyurethane foam used in bedding and upholstered furniture that is administered by a nonprofit organization. Certified foams meet CertiPUR-US standards for content, emissions and durability, and are analyzed by independent, accredited laboratories.