By Liz White, UT editor
London - The CertiPUR foam quality scheme set up in 2005 by Europur, the European association of manufacturers of flexible foam blocks, will in future be affiliated to Oeko-Tex, the Swiss-based group for assessing textiles, revealed Axel Kamprath, Europur secretary general, at the association's general assembly in London, 10 June.
Europur plans a major shift in which the test methods of the two groups will be harmonised. In this radical step, Oeko-Tex will in future carry out the testing and approval for Europur members' foams.
As a result, foams will get a new "CertiPUR Oeko-Tex" label that Europur anticipates will serve its purpose better.
The background to this decision is simple, according to Kamprath: "it is obvious that knowledge of CertiPUR is still very limited. ...We are still faced with a push effect from us, not market pull from clients."
CertiPUR "has worked, but not to the right extent to create the pull effect," Kamprath said, in a press meeting after the meeting.
Many Europur members in northern Europe are already obliged to get both certifications, at high costs; the new scheme is a somewhat lower cost option for them, at about Euro 9000 ($11000) in a 3-year period, Kamprath said.
The new approach has met with a positive response from the Europur board, and the association is canvassing all stakeholders. It has had a large number of responses, with some issues still to be discussed. The Oeko-Tex Board is also positive about the scheme, Kamprath said.
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