By:     Jackie Hirschhaut, ext. 116

AHFA Plans Another Education Program on the California Formaldehyde Regulation

HIGH POINT, N.C. – With the California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission standard for formaldehyde scheduled to take effect January 1, 2009, the American Home Furnishings Alliance has slated its third dedicated workshop designed to help manufacturers understand the implications of the new regulation.

Among the most frequently asked question in emails and phone calls to AHFA’s environmental affairs department in recent months has been, “Will CARB impact my company?” reports Bill Perdue, AHFA’s vice president of environmental affairs.

“If you sell home furnishings in the state of California and those products contain composite wood components, then the new law affects how you label your products, your record-keeping and the details of your chain of custody,” Perdue explains, adding, “Penalties for non-compliance will be stiff.”

AHFA has sponsored several educational programs over the last year to help prepare manufacturers for the new regulation, including a comprehensive, two-day workshop April 22-23 that walked participants through testing, record-keeping and chain of custody requirements. A new, three-hour seminar is slated in October specifically to help information technology executives understand the new regulation and its impact on record-keeping.

“CARB and Its Effect on the IT Department” will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, October 15, at the Embassy Suites Airport in Greensboro, N.C. The cost for non-AHFA member companies is $75 per person and includes lunch. Registration is available online at www.ahfa.us, under EVENTS.

The California formaldehyde rule targets composite wood products (CWP), including medium density fiberboard, particleboard and hardwood/plywood. “It does not matter if your end product is an accent table, an upholstered sofa or a lamp … if it contains any type of composite wood product and you sell it in California, then CARB will impact your company,” says Perdue.

The new CARB standard places severe limitations on formaldehyde emissions from each type of composite wood product. All composite wood used in a product must be tested and certified by a third party laboratory. The rule applies to upholstery frames if they are hardwood plywood, and it applies to all imported products.

“Companies need to look at the products they market in California, evaluate the CWP in those products, and make sure they are sourcing compliant CWP,” Perdue advises. “You need to have the proper labeling and recordkeeping. It can get rather complicated.”

“If California is in your business plan,” he concludes, “you should have someone at the October 15 seminar.”

Perdue has 23 years of environmental experience in the home furnishings industry covering air, water and waste regulatory compliance issues. He has represented the residential furniture industry at CARB meetings ever since the agency’s 2005 air quality report to the California legislature described home furnishings containing formaldehyde as a “major source” of indoor air pollutants.

The American Home Furnishings Alliance – located in High Point, N.C., and Washington, D.C. – works to promote the growth and global leadership of its member companies, including more than 240 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 200 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.