UPHOLSTERY GROUP ENDORSES NEW FLAMMABILITY STANDARD

September 24, 2003 DAVID PETTEY of Quaker Fabric Corporation spoke on behalf of NTA at a hearing at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on flammability standards for upholstered furniture.

According to the CPSC, cigarette-ignitions of upholstered furniture have long been a leading cause of residential fire deaths, injuries and property damage. The CPSC is considering whether new flammability standards should be developed. A group of six upholstery fabric manufacturers (the ``Fabric Coalition''), which includes NTA members Quaker Fabric Corporation and Sunbury Textile Mills, Inc. have expressed support for a national mandatory flammability standard for upholstered furniture and have, in a proposal to the CPSC, outlined specific things that would be required for a balanced standard. NTA has endorsed the Fabric Coalition proposal.

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