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From Home Furnishing Business
Foam Certification Program Adds Guidelines for Molded Foam
August 25,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Industry 
After a year-long testing phase, the CertiPUR-US certification program for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam has been expanded to include molded flexible polyurethane foam that is used in pillows, bedding products and upholstered furniture.
CertiPUR-US officials said there are separate Technical Guidelines for slabstock and molded foams. The only difference in the criteria for certification is the sample size required for evaluation, and the packaging of the sample to be sent to the testing laboratories for analysis, said Mike Crowell, executive director of the program.
Some molded foam producers may need to create a new mold to accommodate the proper sample size, he explained.
To be CertiPUR-US certified, foams must be made without ozone depleters; PBDE, TDCPP, TCEP ("Tris"), and certain other flame retardants; formaldehyde; mercury, lead and other heavy metals; and prohibited phthalates regulated by the CPSC. They also must have low VOC emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million).
The CertiPUR-US foam certification program has 43 participating foam producers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and Vietnam.
Crowell said six producers already are offering certified molded foam: Hansan Home Furniture Co., Ltd., Healthcare Co., Ltd., Megafeat Bedding Co., Ltd., Shuibishen Home Textile Technology Co. Ltd., Sinomax and Soft-Tex International, Inc.
More than 700 manufacturers, distributors and retailers are selling products containing certified foam and listed as participants in the consumer section of the CertiPUR-US website at www.certipur.us.