by Inaugural event planned for October 2024
HIGH POINT — Starting next October, the American Home Furnishings Alliance will sponsor an annual Furniture Safety Week that it said aims to engage all segments of the home furnishings industry in public conversation about furniture and home safety.
The event will have three key objectives, according to AHFA CEO Andy Counts.
The first, he noted, will be to “improve consumer awareness of home safety issues that involve our industry’s products, including furniture tip-over hazards, recliner safety and bunk bed risks.”
A second objective is to elevate the home furnishings industry’s integral role in developing and maintaining effective product safety standards.
“Under the leadership of the American Home Furnishings Alliance, our industry advocates for product regulations that provide the greatest degree of safety for the greatest number of American consumers,” Counts said. “AHFA research, cooperative task group activity, collaboration with outside stakeholders and constant compliance guidance has resulted in continual improvements in product safety and declining incidents involving our industry’s products.”
The third objective aims to embrace collaborative relationships with consumer safety organizations, particularly those dedicated to protecting children.
The AHFA said that a task group including retail, manufacturer and importer members of the AHFA is developing details for the inaugural 2024 event. As part of the effort, participants are looking to develop tool kits featuring social media graphics and messaging, as well as press releases and ideas for online and store events.
The AHFA will announce dates for Furniture Safety Week 2024 at the AHFA Marketing/PR Conference taking place Feb. 6-7 at the Guilford Technical Community College Conference Center.
“We look forward to seeing unified messages across all segments of our industry, all promoting consumer awareness and action,” Counts said. “It’s an effort everyone can and should get behind.”
