Flammable Fabrics Act

Flammable Fabrics Act, enacted in 1970 and last amended in 1983, gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission the authority to set flammability standards for fabrics that protect against an unreasonable risk of the occurrence of a fire. 

Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) - under the Department of Labor. Its goal is to protect the consumer against unreasonable risks from products specified by legislation such as the Hazardous Substances Labeling Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, and Flammable Fabrics Act. (http //www.cpsc.gov/)... 

Wearing apparel is regulated by CPSC and is covered since the promulgation of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) in 1953, by a 45° angle flammability test for apparel fabrics (CS 191-53), which became effective in 1954, and is still valid, as 16 CFR 1610.12 The FFA later started covering other products. 

CFR 1610, Title 16, Commercial Practices, Chapter II, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Part 1610, Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles, Flammable Fabrics Act Regulations, U.S. Federal Government, Washington, DC. 

To carry out its mission, CPSC administers five statutes. They are (1) the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), (2) the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), (3) the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), (4) the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), and (5) the Refrigerator Safety Act (RSA). Toxicological issues arise most frequently under the CPSA, FHSA, and PPPA. CPSC regulations implementing these statutes may be found at Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and are available on the Commission s website. 

At present, there is no universal care labelling system. In the United States, the Wool Products Labelling Act (1938), the Fur Products Labelling Act (1951), the Flammable Fabrics Act (1958) and Rule on Care LabeUing (1972) are in force. The JIS (Japan Industrial Standard) for care labelling came into force in 1962. Similarly, in Korea, the rule on Quality Labelling came into force in 1969, and the use of symbols for care labelling of apparel products was published in 1972. 

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