The mattresses will meet fire safety standards, but that does not mean mattresses are fire­proof – they will only burn more slowly and less intensely, allowing for more time to escape from a home. That’s a critical message to communicate.
Tom Taylor, Acting Chair, Sleep Products Safety Council

Click to enlarge new mattress flammability information tag.

The hangtags were first developed by the SPSC two decades ago. The group has shipped 220 million hangtags since their introduction.

Rent to own operators and retailers will soon begin seeing updated mattress flammability hangtags.

To coincide with the July 1, 2007 effective date for the new national open-flame mattress standard, the International Sleep Products Association’s (ISPA) Sleep Products Safety Council (SPSC) is introducing new mattress hangtags to help educate consumers. The hangtags carry product safety information and feature revised messages.

The hangtags were first developed by the SPSC two decades ago. The group has shipped 220 million hangtags since their introduction.

“We have worked closely with CPSC to establish this new standard, and now that it’s passed, our work is far from over,” said Tom Taylor, acting chair of the SPSC. “The new mattresses will meet fire safety standards, but that does not mean mattresses are fire­proof – they will only burn more slowly and less intensely, allowing for more time to escape from a home. That’s a critical message to communicate.”

The bright yellow hangtags, entitled “Don’t Go To Sleep Yet … Eight Things You Need to Know About Your Mattress,” highlight safety messages regarding smoking, matches, candles, space heaters, electrical cords, sleeping with babies, and the disposal of plastic wrapping and old mattresses.

The new hangtags are designed to meet the needs of non-English-speaking consumers in the U.S. and Canada, using a series of pictograms about fire safety that can be understood in any language.