Whether you are an international company or a start-up, if you deal with textiles then you also must deal with fire safety laws. Thankfully, chemistry has several solutions for making materials flame retardant without them losing their natural textures and tones. Here is a quick guide to flame retardant back coatings for textiles.
The Formulated Polymers Blog
Non Environmentally Hazardous Flame Retardant Coatings
Formulated Polymer Products range of Flame Retardant Textile Back Coatings are no longer classed as environmentally hazardous substances.
Topics: Flame Retardants
Why Effective Fire Safety Regulations For Upholstered Furniture & Furnishings Matter
Courtesy of the British Furniture Confederation.
Background
The UK’s Furniture & Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations (FFFSR) were originally introduced in 1988. They require upholstered furniture - such sofas, chairs, floor cushions and beds - sold in the UK to be made with covers that resist ignition when in contact with smouldering ignition sources (such as cigarettes) and small flames (such as matches or candles). In addition the filling materials used in all upholstered furniture - including sofas, chairs, floor cushions, scatter cushions and mattresses - need to meet higher ignition requirements. These requirements are designed to slow down the spread of fire and give you more time to escape in case of fire.
Topics: Flame Retardants
Announcement From Fretwork – The Flame Retardant Textiles Network Ltd
Fretwork comprises organisations that apply flame retardant treatments to textiles and those who provide the chemical formulations for those treatments. These businesses play a vital role in ensuring furniture manufactured in the UK meets the stringent flammability requirements.
Topics: Flame Retardants
The following article was published by CTIF The International Association of Fire and Rescue Services on the 26th of February 2019.
This article reinforces the need for flame retardant chemicals. In the UK sofas have been treated with flame retardant chemicals for many years and as a consequence the number and severity of fires is significantly lower than in most other countries.
Topics: Flame Retardants
Upcoming Flame Retardant Trends & Regulations For Plastic In 2019
Sometimes, even being the best is just not good enough. Although the EU has for years had in place regulations stipulating all furniture upholstery, foams and plastics must meet certain fire-retardant principles, it is only the UK and Ireland that included an open flame test within their furniture manufacturing laws. Theoretically this makes the UK and Ireland’s manufactured furniture the safest in the European Union.
Topics: Flame Retardants
The Importance Of Flame-Retardant Additives In Plastics
Flame-retardant additives are used in a wide variety of plastic products these days. You will find them in anything from consumer products to oil pipelines. Flame-retardant additives are important in the use and manufacturing of plastics because they help prevent the material from becoming a fuel which could worsen any possible outbreak of fire.
Topics: Flame Retardants, Adhesives
How Will Brexit Impact Fire Retardant Regulations For Fabrics?
In the closing weeks of 2018, few people can comfortably predict how – in exact terms – Brexit will impact on the normal working regulations of any industry in years to come. The first thing to say is that should the UK secure the implementation period that has been much-vaunted by the government from March 2019, nothing will immediately change. So, this means that anyone who purchases textiles that meet the current EU regulations will be able to do so with full confidence until 2021 at minimum.
Topics: Flame Retardants, News
The Grenfell Tower Fire: The Importance of Flame Retardant Furniture
On Wednesday 14th June 2017, London's worst fire for at least a generation began. The Grenfell Tower fire disaster went on to be not just a tragedy for those residents of the block who lost loved ones but for the wider community. Indeed, the public inquiry that followed the events looked into many controversial matters that surrounded the blaze. Not least amongst its considerations was the external cladding that had been fitted to the tower, as well as the much-documented complaints that residents had made to their landlord about safety issues.
Topics: Flame Retardants, Coatings
New Mixer Increases Our Manufacturing Capacity By 30%
We are happy to introduce customers to our latest investment in our manufacturing process. A new high-quality mixer with impressive performance options has helped us increase our manufacturing capacity by over 30%. The high-speed variable mixer – which was commissioned to our specifications – offers increased flexibility, a smoother formulating process, and faster results for our customers.
Topics: Flame Retardants, Adhesives