ASTM publishes new infant bedding standard

Kids Today Staff -- Kids Today, 8/14/2012 12:43:25 PM

The ASTM International has published F1917-12, an enhanced, stronger voluntary infant bedding standard that includes requirements for infant bedding and new requirements for crib bumpers.

The much-anticipated passage of the standard provides manufacturers voluntary guidelines by which they can create uniform crib bumpers that meet certain performance criteria along with new warning labels.

The adoption of the standard allows manufacturers to define and distinguish between hazardous pillow-like crib bumpers from non-hazardous crib bumpers with specific performance requirements. The standard also now includes enhancements to the warning statements on the product.

"Prior to today, there were limited performance standards in place for bumper pads," Keith Schneider, ASTM infant bedding subcommittee chairman and senior vice president of bedding manufacturer PEM America, said in a You Tube video commenting on the new standard.

"The industry is celebrating today the passage of the enhanced infant bedding standard that includes crib bumpers," said Michael Dwyer, executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers' Assn. "Our members have been creating bumpers that meet these requirements for some time, and parents can now benefit from this clarifying standard when they are outfitting their nursery and selecting bedding designed specifically for cribs."

In recent months, JPMA has been vocal in its commitment to provide parents choices when shopping for their nursery.

"Parents have a right to choose the products they use to care for their baby to protect them from limb entrapment, abrasions and contusions when they place their baby in a crib to sleep," Dwyer said. "As an industry, we remain fully supportive of safe sleep education and the standard development process."

In 2011, JPMA launched a comprehensive safe sleep awareness initiative and the website www.cribsafety.org as a resource for parents and caregivers on the safe use and selection of sleep products.

JPMA is encouraging the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and states to adopt mandatory safety regulations based on the ASTM infant bedding standard.

"I want to continue encouraging legislators to rely on the scientific data on crib bumper pads and adapt the ASTM standard in your state," said Schneider.

To see Schneider discuss the new standard, click here.