CPSC Provisionally Accepts Consent Agreements With 17 Mattress Manufacturers

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has provisionally accepted 17 consent agreements prohibiting 17 mattress manufacturers from selling products which fail to meet the requirements of the Flammable Fabrics Act it was announced today.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has provisionally accepted 17 consent agreements prohibiting 17 mattress manufacturers from selling products which fail to meet the requirements of the Flammable Fabrics Act it was announced today.

The agreements require each of the 17 firms to conduct all flammability tests specified by the Mattress Standard (FF-4-72); to label each mattress manufactured with a permanent, accessible and legible label containing the appropriate production unit identification; and to maintain all records required by the Standard and the Commission's regulation.

Additionally, as part of the provisional consent agreements, 16 of the firms are required to notify purchasers of non-complying mattresses that they may return their non-complying mattresses for complete refund or replacement (at the option of the manufacturer), plus an allowance for reasonable transportation costs (the means of transportation to be determined by the manufacturer).

One firm, the Eldredge Mattress Factory, Hutchinson, Kansas, had completed customer notification and recall before submitting the consent order agreement.

The Mattress Standard went into effect on June 22, 1973. However a six-month "grace period" was provided during which manufacturers could attach warning labels to non-complying mattresses to indicate that they did not meet the standard in lieu of compliance with the sampling and testing requirements. Since December 22, 1973, all newly manufactured mattresses must be produced in accordance with the sampling and testing requirements of the Standard. These 17 provisional consent agreements were the result of Commission compliance investigations conducted in 1973 and 1974.

These agreements are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by any of the 17 companies that they have violated the law. A future violation of the consent agreement by my of the companies could result in the assessment of substantial civil penalties.

The complaints and consent agreements will remain on the public record for 60 days through March 15, 1976,during which time any interested person may submit comments to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1750 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20207.

After considering any comments on the cases, the Commission may finally accept the agreements individually or withdraw its provisional acceptance where it deems necessary.

For additional information about these consent agreements contact the Bureau of Compliance, Consumer Product Safety Comnission, 5401 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20207.

The list of manufacturers accepting provisional consent agreements are listed below:

List Of Manufacturers Accepting Provisional Consent Agreements