EuroPUR wants users to demand only foam with its flexible foam certificate
report by Liz White, editor
The European flexible foam sector has set its house in order through its voluntary Surtees foam testing scheme and it wants the world to know about it.
EuroPUR wants to get the news across that flexible foam with its CertiPUR label is free of toxic materials and low emissions. CertiPUR is “essential to protect flexible PU foam in the near future, stressed Herbert Creyf, EuroPUR secretary general, in a presentation during the EuroPUR/euro moulders meeting in Seville, Spain, 12 – 13 June. And the scale must become the reference for environmental health and safety (EHS), he added.
Since its members are not loudly publicising the scheme, the association is devising a marketing approach to get the scheme more widely known and recognised.
While technical matters under control, “we have seen that after three years, CertiPUR wasn’t well understood – by label holders and customers,”. This means that demand from customers – the pull factor – has been poor Creyf feels, and the retail sector is going to get some attention, with a marketing approach being developed by Henry Vliegen, international business development director for Recticel.
CertiPUR’s message is that PU foam producers proactively “contributes to a better world.” Vligen and once this to be CertiPUR’s slogan to persuade everyone in the business of the benefits of using foam that meets the standard.
Vliegen has taken on the task of getting CertiPUR more widely known in the foam supply chain and is busy developing strategies here.
Something of a coup for EuroPUR (the European Association of flexible foam block manufacturers) is that influential Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is on board with CertiPUR. Following cooperative work, IKEA and CertiPUR’s foam specifications have been harmonised: IKEA will now accept foam with the CertiPUR label without further testing, said Creyf.
“The scheme is in full swing with IKEA and is in full agreement with the major furniture group’s technical demands,” he said.
Bjorn Frithioff, who runs IKEA standards and consumer legislation Department, confirmed Mr delegates: long “IKEA will accept CertiPUR testing, there will be no need for double testing.”
“More and more people believe firmly that CertiPUR is a must to protect our polyurethanes companies, said Creyf, adding that EuroPUR now has 35 certificates in 19 countries, “one of which is China.” EuroPUR has also received interest from India.
European legislation especially REACH (the EU is a regulation on at registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals), is affecting the chemical industry, which must now prove its materials are harmful, he pointed out.
CertiPUR uses global reliable test methods which EuroPUR works hard on. It now has “a very high standard and certifies very high quality products.” This is essential, Creyf said, because “in the future the world will dictate to others that we need to go green in polyurethanes.”
Under CertiPUR, EuroPUR arranges foam testing for producers via a network of approved laboratories and can then take random foam samples to test for compliance.
Self-regulation – or else!
Foam manufacturers and retailers face the prospect of more and more regulation from outside, and more issues with product liability in future, according to experts speaking at the EuroPUR/euro moulders meeting in Seville. (Euro moulders is the EuroPUR equivalent in the automotive sector – the European Association of Manufacturers of moulders automotive polyurethane parts for the automotive industry).
“If the products are not good enough in some way, they will be stopped, Vliegen continued.
Flexible foam is can wait until the rules dictated by outside bodies who do not know the limitations of production or the safe use of PU, he said. But a far better route is for EuroPUR to lead the agenda on procedures in best practice, sustainability and green demands, said Vliegen.
This means that CertiPUR will become the leading SHE quality standard for the flexible foam sector, recognised worldwide, Vliegen said.
Already a US version of the scheme has been developed and was launched in July, two a good reception according to Bob Luedeka, executive director of the Poly urethane foam Association in the US.
Vliegen’s efforts will involve both a ‘push’ effect – encouraging members to use and promote scheme, and a ‘pull’ effect – persuading consumers of foam, the retailers and distributors, to insist on certified foam.
“Paul is better and needs to come from customers/distributors demanding that suppliers are certified,” commented Ward DuPont, EuroPUR president. “They must insist that the product is controlled,” he added.
And while this seems like a hard task in view of the diverse nature of the business, DuPont pointed out that the top five retailers have 50% of the furniture business in Europe. They can be bought on board they will constitute half the retail sector, and others will follow he feels.
Bjorn Frithioff, he runs IKEA’s standard and consumer legislation Department commented that, “it is strange there are no specific laws for consumer products – simply the general product safety directive in Europe and legislation in different countries based on that. So the onus is on retailers to ensure products are safe,” he said. “You have to do what is reasonably expected of you,” ensuring these requirements are met through follow-up systems of quality assurance, he said.
Liability risks are severe
IKEA takes its responsibility to consumers very seriously, with a rigorous testing, selecting the toughest standards available in a region as its benchmark, said Freithioff. And he stressed that the risks involved in a big product liability case are “very severe.” First action is a product recall: then you have to admit you have failed in your product insurance… And products reach the market that shouldn’t have.” He said
In some cases legal action is taken by governments, and class-action lawsuits in the US can be a major concern. The fines by the number of products sold, “so if you sell millions of product, this can run into very high figures,” he said
While a big company may be able to bear the costs, the risk is a long drawn out affair and a loss of consumer confidence, Freithioff explained.
IKEA has concluded that any work to avoid such events is valuable, Freithioff said.
Vliegen, CertiPUR’s new marketing champion, pointed out that environmental issues are affecting all sectors,. The foam industry will also have to deal with the effects of reach, with the demands for sustainability and product liability rules. EuroPUR needs to “take the lead to set the agenda,” to avoid having rules imposed by outside bodies, he said. Specific benefits for the PU foam manufacturers who have to push CertiPUR along the supply chain are:
• Less certification costs at €4500 for EuroPUR members and 8000 for non-members;
• Clear quality standards;
• Protection against poor competition;
• Better quality of trim foam;
• Greener more sustainable;
• Lower risk from product liability.
By and large, Vliegen indicated that these benefits will reverberate along the supply chain from PU foam manufacturers to processors/converters, is product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, to consumers and onto recycling.
EuroPUR needs develop an active interest in CertiPUR at all levels of the supply chain. Here Vliegen said, EuroPUR must get in contact with the converters and their associations to convince them. It also needs to get product manufacturers and their associations on board, for example in bedding EBIA (the European bedding industry Association), and for pulses furniture the UEA (European furniture Manufacturers Federation), E FIC (European furniture industry Confederation) and other organisations. Vliegen said EuroPUR must attract some of the major European distributed and retailers, which include IKEA, JYSK, Conforama, BUT and better bed.
Vliegen stressed that EuroPUR must mobilise members to obtain the CertiPUR label and promoted actively in the supply chain. They have to convince retailers to ask the CertiPUR label, he said
EuroPUR says the marketing group, to ensure our message reaches all levels in the supply chain right down to the consumer.” “
“We shall provide the forceful imagery and the convincing arguments and slogans, the formats to assist promotional activities everywhere,” he added. This will be in the form of exhibition panels, adverts, press articles, point-of-sale display, leaflets brochures and more,” Vliegen said.
CertiPUR is guaranteed to make the world “a cleaner and safer place for all our futures.” Vliegen concluded that CertiPUR is needed to protect the image of PU foam.
CertiPUR’s US inauguration is “a positive thing coming out of the US, from working with EuroPUR, said Bob Luedeka, executive director of the Poly urethane foam Association, speaking to the European firms in Seville.
This year’s version “as global credibility to the entire package, he said, adding that US label is “a sealed to help reassure customers of the safety of the products that they will be using in furniture and bedding.
CertiPUR develops
Highlighted technical change is inserted Paul Charlie said a basic premise is that substances do not use chemicals which have certain ‘R’ [risk] phrases – R49, $46, R60 and R61.
Volatile organic compounds are currently measured by carbon trapping for 16 hours, but this will be replaced by the more severe Tenax Trapping.
The specification of 0.5mg/m3 remains Charlie said.
Harmonisation with IKEA will save CertiPUR members money, he said. For CertiPUR the first analysis costs €1500 with eight €3000 Administration fee, giving a total of €4500 for three years for all the phone families that the users want to subscribe. The new label requires why initial tests on TV tests which are guided by the office.
CertiPUR has, “change the concept about the use organic tin products like dibutyl tin dilaurate (DBTL), he said. DB TDL has been classified with R freezers R60 and R61 and R68 (R61: may harm the unborn child, R60: risk of infertility and, R68: risk of irreversible effects) it is not possible to get a suitable label if you use DB TDL, Charlie said.
This has allowed CertiPUR to substantially reduce the TBT limit from 500 ppb TBT to less than 100 ppb.
Brominated fly retardants can still be used, but not for IKEA, and such firms must be kept separate from foams intended for IKEA, Charlie said.
CertiPUR will continue to allow these FR’s, on condition that they are not supplied to IKEA, because half of Europe’s members “found them very difficult to replace,” Charlie said.
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IKEA revealed
IKEA aims to make affordable, well-designed furniture. The group had sales in 2006 of 20,000 million euros worldwide from about 230 stalls in 24 countries. Some 500 million people visit it stores each year. IKEA has around 120,000 workers, most in retail, 96 in Europe.
Its top five sales countries are: Germany 16%; US 10%, France 9%, UK 9%, Sweden 7%. Europe dominates with 80% of sales and also dominates in purchasing, at 64%. Although ACO constitutes only 3% of sales, the single biggest purchasing region is China, not in foam products, but enjoys or textiles, "Freithioff said.
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Emissions important for IKEA
In polyurethane foam, emissions are “the most frequent type of issue we have,” as IKEA said Freithioff. Migration issues are also important, as are fire safety, or rather issues with flame retardant (FR) chemicals, he added.
IKEA also has to deal with evaluations by consumer magazines such as okay oh-test in Germany, products such as mattresses and furniture
For foams, use of flame retardant can influence the emissions properties and also mechanical properties: IKEA is working with fire retardants companies find the best solutions, stressed Freithioff.
IKEA has some problems in the US with new fire regulations, he added.
In general, Freithioff said, it is critical that foamers allow sufficient time for after curing: IKEA mould acknowledges that it adds to this risk when it demands extra shipments at short notice.
“We had a huge case like that many years ago… With sofa beds, which cost a lot of money,” he added. In most cases such products never reach the market and IKEA does not have to make a recall. But this case had “very severe consequences… We had to stop the sales full,” he said.
The problem for both PU and latex foams is that they act as a sponge total chemicals from their surroundings, Freithioff said. This means that foamers have to have quality assurance in the hold the solution chain.
Freithioff site the case, “where we detected nasty organic solvents in the emissions – small quantities but still calcified as carcinogenic.” The mattress foaming questions were stored in a warehouse where gluing went on and absorb solvent in the air, Freithioff said. This was corrected, “but you can only imagine the solvent content of other mattresses which they had on the site”
In emissions organic tin is IKEA’s main difficulty: IKEA’s limit is a total of 2.5 mil per KG, with specific limits for TBT (tributyl tin) and dibutyl tin (DBT).
“We had a nasty case last year and had to make a recall for chemicals,” Freithioff said. Okay oh-test examined and IKEA mattress and “we sought to our horror that we exceeded our own limits of TBT and it was not just slightly above but hundreds of times,” he said.
“This was a localised issue mainly in Germany with any slight amounts from one supplier,” caused by a change of subscribe. IKEA stop the sales and investigated. “We almost buried to laboratories in mattresses to have quick tests and analysis.”
Toxicological tests showed “we will below World Health Organisation limits,” but IKEA decided to offer a refund or a new mattress, said Freithioff. “This is a high quality mattress, where the customer had the right to expect more orders.”
It is also very difficult for consumers to assess the risk level and IKEA recognise the value of taking the initiative and getting the facts out first. After this IKEA no longer use the suppliers he’s tin organics.
In fire safety, the UK and also North America have tough regulations: in this case IKEA makes exception to the principle of using the strictest demand of any country. This is because there are two kinds of risk which must be balanced: “we are fire safety risk which is real… But you also have a chemical risk and different countries have made different assessments here,” Freithioff said.
Looking back a number of years IKEA saw two extremes, Freithioff said. In the UK, there was an attitude that “as long as it doesn’t burn we don’t care what’s inside.” In contrast, in Germany this was turned around: “it doesn’t matter how Burns as long as is nothing dangerous inside.”
Outside the UK, IKEA use the Nordic requirements of a small ring cigarette test, which you can meet in most cases without any AFR is, by choice of materials, Freithioff said. If IKEA has user files, then brominated organic types are not permitted suppliers may use them, “they must keep them apart from our range,” Freithioff said.
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US CertiPUR launch goes well
The US version of CertiPUR, announced 27 May, include suppliers as well as phone makers. “We had suppliers who said they’d like to join in this too,” and put the seal on raw materials to indicate that these are the raw materials that should be used to make CertiPUR compliant foam.
The principal difference to the European version is that “we license the product and not the producer,” said Luedeka. The US scheme also includes mechanical properties “which we thought very important, particularly given the number of poor quality imports coming in from Asia,” Luedeka said.
It is possible that “if only certified in Europe, it can be sold in the US without more testing, and the same in reverse, we hope,” Luedeka commented.
The PFA had for foamers interested, and one raring to go in early June, Luedeka said.
A second July statement from the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam Incorporated (AFPF), which is running the US scheme, said 14 flexible Poly urethane foam product groups were registered in the charter programme.
The scheme “will help differentiate complying products from substandard foams, addressed topical consumer issues and demonstrate a company’s commitment to environmental stewardship,” AFP a commented.
“Once participating foam manufacturers have their certifications in place, we’ll begin to roll out the CertiPUR-US message to further furniture and bedding manufacturers and to major retailers,” said the association.
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FR risk assessment process
Discussing the state of the European Union’s risk assessment on fire retardants (FR) in Seville, Ken Hillier, chairman of the EuroPUR technical committee said, recent moves under which the FR TCPP ([tris(2-chloro-1-methylethyl)phosphate]) will not be classified as an R 40 material were “very good news is, it shows they are taking good science into consideration.”
Agreement was reached to reword the risk assessment at the latest missing of TC NES (Technical Committee Of New And Existing Chemical Substances). It now appears that both member states and industry are being appeased, Hillier said. There will be no R40 recommendation, with R62 and R63 classed as borderline.
Hillier pointed out that this classification is a very small part of a 300 page document which overall sees no problems with TCCP for human health (PU foam workers or consumers) and no problems with respect to the environment.
R phrases represent hazard
Here Hillier paused to remind the audience that “risk equals exposure times hazard.”
“Risk phrases do not represent ’risk’, but ’hazard’ he stressed. The risk assessment tells is that the risk is very low, because the exposure is very low, he explained.
For fire retardant TDCP [tris(2-chloro-1-chloromethyl)phosphate]), R 40 classification has been agreed for consumers, Hillier said. But classification of TDC PU is “on hold for female fertility” and further work has to be done here to gain more data.
Finally, for the V6 fire retardant[2,2-bis(chloromethyl)trimethylene-bis{bis(2-chloroethy) phosphatge}] no classification is replaced with human health as long as TE CP concentration is under 1.0%
Other issues in fire their files that DG SANCO (the European Union’s health and consumer affairs body) is looking at European furniture laws, and this may involve restrictions on F ours, as maybe eco-label revision and the California bill.
Another slight success EuroPUR was over the EU’s mattress eco-label this you say: “halogenated or brominated flame retardants shall not be used.” But this has been changed now Hillier said. EuroPUR was “surprised the scientific data was ignored,” and this phrase appeared in the draft. “We queried it and it was changed,” said Hillier.
EuroPUR technical committee has also been looking at the issue of dimethyl formamide (DMF) found in some flexible foams, which “may originate from the aimine catalyst,” said Hillier. The suppliers – Air Products, Momentive, Tosoh, Huntsman and BASF – are now acting on this through the CEFIC PU amine catalyst sector group, Hillier said.
All group members “now acknowledge that certain catalyst types, for example bis(dimethylaminoethyl)-ether, do contain DMF (about 280 ppm).” Further work will make the foam with Casa Simone DMF contents to try and determine if all the-year-old DMF come from the catalyst, Hillier said.
Don’t panic – REACH for help
Discussing REACH, Hillier advised people not to panic. “Hope is available,” he said. In the first place and regularly is the EEC AJ website: http://echa.europa.eu
Users need to get assurance that suppliers will preregister all the substances they purchase at present have a systems that all parts of the system will be preregistered, he added
At EuroPUR/Euro moulders, REACH working groups continue to meet with ISOPA (the European diisocyanate and polyol producers Association), EFRA (the European flame retardants Association) and the Amine Catalyst Sector Group, Hillier said. EuroPUR will also help provide details for the CSR (the chemical safety report).
EuroPUR has a letter format for members to show they are fully rich compliant, and also has available an explosion of why PU foam is defined as an article.
Hillier refers to a EuroPUR committee meeting in 2004 at which one speaker said:
• REACH is an attempt to create a utopian toxic free society;
• the process of risk regulation will be heavily politicised; and
• public concern may be based on misconceptions and misinformation.
And Hillier referred to the Pericles yes (1493 – 1541) epigram: “the dose makes the poison.”
“I’m just saying reach may go overboard a little,” Hillier pointed out mildly, “and that we must not assume that all chemicals are bad.”
Most chemicals, including PU foam, contributes the value and comfort of our lives, he pointed out.
