UFAC Updates Deck Label

Furniture World Magazine

The Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC), a voluntary industry association organized to conduct research into more cigarette-resistant upholstered furniture, has updated its deck label to reflect changes in its hangtag program initiated earlier this year. The new hangtag, issued in April, was revised to be simpler and easier for consumers to read and to garner more attention from purchasers of the product. The size of the tag was increased by 20%, and a precaution was added about small open flames such as matches, candies and lighters. The labeling changes have been well accepted by the upholstered furniture community, said Ed Gerken, UFAC chairman and chairman of Norwalk Furniture Corporation. "That is gratifying to us, as we believe that the hangtag plays a significant role in the consumer's safer use of our products," he said. UFAC provides both hangtags and deck labels to its participating manufacturers at a nominal cost. UFAC's hangtag program, developed 23 years ago, was created to help reduce the number of cigarette-ignited fires in upholstered furniture. Manufacturers who participate in the program - and affix the UFAC tags to their products -agree to meet the construction criteria outlined by the program to reduce the likelihood of upholstery fires. The hangtags and deck labels, which are applied by the manufacturer at the factory, indicate to the consumer that the furniture meets these criteria. The UFAC program has been credited with helping to contribute to a 79.3% reduction in the number of upholstered furniture fires started by smoldering cigarettes. Like the trifold UFAC hangtags, the new deck labels are presented in English, French and Spanish so that they can be understood by people all over North America. Revenues from sale of the tags are used to finance the UFAC voluntary program, including compliance verification, to fund additional research and to promote the program to the industry and consumers.