Furniture Today Staff, October 17, 2018

MARIETTA, Ga. — Underwriter Laboratories (UL) has announced the development of a safety certification document for outdoor furniture to help retailers and consumers identify safe furniture.

According to the UL, data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission reveals that nearly 3 million outdoor furniture products were recalled between 2016 and 2018 due to safety risks and problems, highlighting the need for more stringent product testing and standards.

Working with The Home Depot and industry stakeholders, UL developed UL 4041, a certification document for safety of outdoor furniture. UL 4041 evaluates products for dangers like corrosion, stability, strength, shear and pinch points, endurance and durability. The newly developed requirements help manufacturers and retailers evaluate the safety of their products, mitigate risk of injury during use and empower consumers to identify safer patio furniture.

In process to be approved as an ANSI Standard in 2019, UL 4041 has already been used to evaluate outdoor furniture products.

The Home Depot began certifying outdoor furniture products for the 2019 season with plans to expand to all products in scope for the standard The certification document is applicable to outdoor furniture including tables, chairs, multi-seat products, benches, hanging chairs, swings and chaise lounge chairs.