Testing of consumer products

As a major by-product of the forestry industry, wood and timber-related products often end up as furniture.  Good furniture needs to function properly, withstand a lot of wear and tear and conform to specific safety standards. SGS’s Consumer Testing Services division offers a comprehensive evaluation of furniture based on industry standards in Japan, the US and the EU.  Our furniture testing laboratories are spread throughout the worlds’ key sourcing markets, including the biggest, China, where we four busy labs in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Anji operate.  Our test capabilities cover,

• Physical performance tests
• Fire & flammability
• Foams
• Adhesives & Coatings
• Textiles such as upholstery

Japanese market requirements
For office, domestic, upholstered and children’s furniture the following tests can and should be conducted:

• Safety test
• Stability, Toxic property, Fire resistance, Electric resistance, Stinking property
• Function check:
• Operational property, Dimensional Accuracy, Water leakage resistance, Soundlessness
• Strength & Durability Test:
• Static Load, Dynamic Load, Repeated Durability, Weather Resistance, Surface Process Properties…etc
• Japanese standards covered: JIS S1017,S1023,S1102, S1202

US & EU market requirement
For office, domestic, outdoor, kitchen, educational, upholstered and children’s furniture the following tests can and should be conducted:

Strength & Durability Tests

• Static load test
• Stability test
• Swivel test / Base dynamic test
• Durability test
• BIFMA member in China
• Standards covered: BS 4875 Part 1,5,7~8, EN 1725, 1728, ISO 7170, 7171, BIFMA X5.1,5.2.

Restrictions on Substances Tests

• Formaldehyde content /emission
• Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
• Cadmium content

Flammability Tests

• Upholstered Material - CA Technical Bulletin 116, 117, BS 5852, BS 7177, EN 1021…etc

Fabric Tests

• Tensile Strength / Tearing Strength
• Fabric Composition
• Bursting Strength / Seam Strength
• Water Repellency
• Colorfastness to Lighting, Rubbing...etc