The American Home Furnishings Alliance announces it will sponsor an annual Furniture Safety Week beginning October 2024. The initiative is designed to engage all segments of the home furnishings industry in public conversation about furniture and home safety.
Furniture Safety Week will have three key objectives, according to AHFA CEO Andy Counts. “First, the effort will improve consumer awareness of home safety issues that involve our industry’s products, including furniture tip-over hazards, recliner safety and bunk bed risks,” he said.
A second objective is to elevate the home furnishings industry’s integral role in developing and maintaining effective product safety standards. “Under the leadership of the American Home Furnishings Alliance, our industry advocates for product regulations that provide the greatest degree of safety for the greatest number of American consumers,” said Counts. “AHFA research, cooperative task group activity, collaboration with outside stakeholders and constant compliance guidance has resulted in continual improvements in product safety and declining incidents involving our industry’s products.”
Finally, the annual effort seeks to embrace collaborative relationships with consumer safety organizations, particularly those dedicated to protecting children.
A task group including retail, manufacturer and importer members of AHFA is working to develop details for the inaugural 2024 event. Tool kits with social media graphics and messages are planned, along with press releases and ideas for online and store events. Dates and branding for Furniture Safety Week 2024 will be announced at AHFA’s Marketing/PR Conference February 6-7 at the Guilford Technical Community College Conference Center.
“We look forward to seeing unified messages across all segments of our industry, all promoting consumer awareness and action,” Counts said. “It’s an effort everyone can and should get behind.”