Furniture Trade Body Welcomes EU Warning on Flame Retardants

The European Furniture Industries Confederation (Efic) has welcomed a warning, included in the revised EU Green Public Procurement criteria, on the negative effects of flame retardant use.

GPP criteria for furniture are voluntary guidelines, which aim to help public authorities purchase products and services with reduced environmental impacts.

In the staff working document on the EU GPP, the European Commission notes that the open flame test for upholstered furniture (EN 1021-2) requires a lower level of flammability than the European 'smoulder ignition test' (EN 1021-1).

It says the open flame test can lead to use of flame retardant chemicals which "may have negative effects for the environment, health, durability and quality of products, and may lead to cost increases".

The guidelines urge public authorities to "therefore consider, according to the intended use and location of the furniture items, what levels of flammability it needs to require."

'A first step’

Efic general secretary, Roberta Dessi, told Chemical Watch that the association was glad the Commission had adopted this recommendation.

She said: "It is a first step. We believe that this can help raise awareness among member states about the consequences of choosing certain flammability tests for furniture."

But she added that the "sustainability part" of public tenders is often accompanied by demands for very stringent flammability standards. This leads to widespread use of flame retardants "in contradiction with the aim of having truly green procurements".

She urged member states to "use this feedback to re-evaluate the need for such stringent standards for furniture in their national requirements, in the light of the overwhelming scientific evidence on risks connected to flame retardant use."

The UK and Ireland are the only EU countries to have national regulations requiring an open flame test for domestic furniture, which effectively necessitates the use of flame retardants. Last year, Efic lodged a complaint with the Commission on the basis that these standards pose a barrier to trade in the single market.

For furniture for the public market there are different national regulations in force, some of which also impose open flame tests.

Furniture design

The GPP criteria technical report acknowledges that the need for flame retardants can potentially be avoided by "careful choice of materials and product design". But it says that this type of upholstered furniture "can be considered to only represent a niche market at this stage and, unlike California, current fire safety standards in Europe for public furniture are currently not well set up to embrace this approach."

California removed its open flame test in 2013. Prior to that, California’s Technical Bulletin (TB) 117 had served as the de facto national standard, which effectively required the use of flame retardants.

The report adds that the lack of a harmonised approach to fire safety standards, at the European level, means that "any potential restrictions on flame retardants, recommended in EU GPP criteria, may conflict with specific member state legislation."

Ms Dessi responded: "Our campaign is aimed at having a more proactive approach from European institutions, in making the case for flame retardant free furniture possible."

She also noted: "In addition to the environmental and health impact, there is a growing concern that flame retardants may increase fire toxicity. This would also seriously question any concrete fire safety benefit from their use."

Efic is a member of the Alliance for Flame Retardant Free Furniture in Europe, a coalition of stakeholders including industry associations and environmental NGOs.

Last year, the coalition published a paper, The Case for Flame Retardant free Furniture, calling for the EU to harmonise fire safety regulations so that the chemicals were not required for them to be met.

Efic have argued that the use of flame retardants and other chemicals may prevent the furniture sector from fully entering the circular economy.

Earlier this year, San Francisco banned the sale of upholstered furniture and children’s products, "made with or containing an added flame retardant chemical". More than a dozen US states have banned some categories of the chemicals.