Separately Sold Bean Bag Covers Included in Updated ASTM F1912 Standard

ASTM International has updated its safety standard specifications for bean bag chairs and bean bag covers. ASTM F1912-19 now covers bean bag covers that are sold separately.

Following the recall of a bean bag chair covers that used zippers that could be opened by children in January 2018, ASTM Subcommittee F15.39 has revised ASTM F1912 – Standard Specification for Safety of Bean Bag Chairs and Bean Bag Covers. The standard was created in response to the choking and suffocating hazards associated with these products – the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported that between 1973 and 1995, there were five deaths and 26 injuries reported in relation to bean bag products.

The standard covers both bean bag chairs, and bean bag covers with and without zippers. It specifically covers two types:
• Refillable
• Permanent closed, without the ability to be refilled

The standard defines the product as, “a bag or cover capable of being filled with polymeric or natural material beads, or a liner that contains polymeric or natural material beads.”

There is also a new definition of “non-refillable bean bag chair,” which is, “a bean bag chair not intended to be refilled with polymeric or natural material beads, or a liner that contains polymeric or natural material beads.”

The standard requires all bean bag chairs and bean bag covers to have:
• Appropriate labeling concerning suffocation safety. This will alter in response to the requirement to refill or not
• Withstand a drop durability test without failure of seams or closure mechanisms, allowing unintended access to filling material or inner liner
• Zippers that are either disabled or require a specified minimum force for actuation

This updated version of the standard means that bean bag covers are now subject to requirements concerning durability, performance and labelling.

Stakeholders are now advised to check their products conform to the latest standards for bean bag chairs and bean bag covers.

SGS Furniture Services
SGS helps you deliver well-designed, functional, durable and safe products to your customers. We have the furniture industry, regulatory and technical expertise to check your products’ compliance against relevant standards and/or your own specifications. Learn more about SGS’s Furniture Services: [www.sgs.com/furniture]

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full US Bean Bag Safety Standard Updated SafeGuardS. [www.sgs.com/en/news/2019/11/safeguards-15319-us-bean-bag-safety-standard-updated]

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For further information contact:

Matthew McGarrity
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This release was published on openPR.