Written by Carla Pyle, NUA Board Member and Natural Upholstery educator & consultant
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“Now more than ever, we realize that human health and well-being is precious. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the products and technologies we interact with every day can have tremendous impact on our health and safety. Chemical Insights, an Institute of Underwriters Laboratories, combines the best minds, rigorous scientific research and a commitment for thorough and accurate results, to find answers to questions that support safe, healthy working, learning and living environments.”
- Chemical Insights Mission Statement
When was the last time a customer engaged you in a lively conversation about the potential health effects of the upholstery materials you use in your work? This is a subject that’s getting more attention, both in upholstery workrooms and in the wider industry.
The Taskforce
Wouldn’t it be nice to have some science-backed facts about safe & healthy furniture, all laid out for you to learn and share with your clients? That is one of the goals of the Furniture Flammability and Human Health Taskforce, recently initiated by Chemical Insights https://chemicalinsights.org/.
Overview
The Taskforce is part of step five in a five-step process that Chemical Insights (CI) employs for each of its research initiatives:
1. Involve a wide range of stakeholders in their initiatives, convening all parties with a connection to the topic (summit). Based on the outcome of these discussions, CI sets a research agenda, designs a methodology, selects research partners and establishes an action plan. (eg. manufacturers, users, health care professionals, policymakers). When setting a research agenda, CI considers these factors: Emerging issues in the marketplace, New technologies and unintended risks, Health risks posed, and Lack of regulation or guidance (eg. indoor air quality is not regulated)
2. CI then conducts the independent research for the selected initiative -all research is objective, independent, transparent and self-funded. Research often spans multiple years and involves partnerships with academic research institutions.
3. Once the research has been conducted, scientists from CI & partners analyze the data to confirm key findings, evaluate end-user health impact and develop action steps.
4. CI shares findings with key stakeholders to discuss, and at times debate, the results and impacts of their research. They also publish scientific papers and deliver presentations for the scientific community; develop targeted education, such as webinars, for relevant industry professionals; and share general information with the public, through articles, social media and web-based tools.
5. Once CI shares their research findings, they work to support the safe commercialization of evolving technologies through the development of best practices, standards, guidelines, health criteria and assessment tools.
Goals
The Taskforce’s three key GOALS are to:
1) Provide a forum for knowledge and suggested actions related to harmonizing efforts on Furniture Flammability and Human Health.
2) Develop guidance documents on achieving fire-safe/chemical-safefurniture.
3) Develop “safe choice” educational materials for consumers.
If I were to distill this down in to a single sentence targeted to upholsterers, it might look something like this:
The Furniture Flammability and Human Health Taskforce is a collaborative effort that brings industry professionals and stakeholders together to utilize scientific documentation on furniture flammability and human health in order to create consumer-targeted educational resources that upholstery professionals can share with their clients.
Timeline and Participants
