A task group within the ASTM F15.42 Furniture Safety Subcommittee is examining the current safety specification for furniture tip restraints, F3096. New test methods for both plastic and metal restraints are expected to be proposed.
The F3096 standard was due for its mandatory five-year review in 2024, ASTM standards are reviewed every five years, and the F3096 standard was up for the mandatory ASTM 5-yr review and the recall coincided with the review. One small edit below.
Review of the standard was, in part, triggered by the investigation and eventual recall of millions of tip restraints produced by New Age Industries in Vietnam. The recalled tip restraint kits were included with clothing storage units sold since 2019 throughout the United States, both online and in stores. The plastic zip tie in those kits can become brittle and break, allowing a unit that is anchored to the wall to detach.
While there were only two reports of the plastic New Age tip restraints breaking, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has now assembled data on an additional 16 anti-tip device failures from 2013 through 2023. However, half of the incidents involved either the connection to the wall or the connection to the furniture failing, not the device itself.
The task group will be examining these incidents for insights to help inform the standard revision.