by LAS VEGAS — The American Home Furnishings Alliance is encouraging the industry to reach out to their elected representatives to help stop the United States Consumer Protection Safety Commission’s new tip-over standard for clothing storage units.
With strongly worded language, the group has created a letter that individuals or companies can sign and send directly to their Congressional representatives protesting the new rule.
While the AHFA and much of the industry supports a mandatory standard that would protect children and other individuals from tip-overs, it says that the CPSC’s new standard would outlaw most existing models of clothing storage furniture starting May 24, effectively pricing them out of the market for most consumers based on the cost of compliance, from reengineering of products to higher shipping costs.
Its reference is to both new and inline goods that would be manufactured after the May 24 compliance date.
“Join with the American Home Furnishings Alliance and other industry partners in their challenge to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s new standard for clothing storage units,” said Andy Counts, AHFA chief executive officer, in a letter asking the industry to reach out to their elected officials on the issue. “The CPSC promulgated a standard so complex and so ambiguous as to make it unenforceable. Further, the CPSC failed to perform a true-to-life cost/benefit analysis of the impacts of this new standard, thus completely glossing over the fact that the rule will make new, compliant furniture cost-prohibitive for many consumers.”
Counts also noted that AHFA supports a mandatory stability standard to reduce the number of deaths and injuries associated with tip-overs, and has worked with parents groups and industry experts to develop a new ASTM stability standard that the recently passed STURDY Act requires the CPSC to consider.
“Despite AHFA’s efforts to get the CPSC to voluntarily stay the effective date of its new standard in light of Congress’ passage of the STURDY Act, CPSC has refused to do so,” Counts added in the letter. “This refusal directly undermines the will of the people through their duly elected representatives and inflicts massive costs on the industry and consumers.”
A form below Count’s letter allows recipients to send a more detailed and personalized letter to their elected officials by inputting their name, city and state of residence, and email. For a copy of the letter click here.
