AHFA urges furniture marketers to make product safety a selling point

COLFAX, N.C. — Furniture brands and manufacturers should take a more active role in communicating product safety rather than relying mainly on warning labels and instruction manuals with the growth of noncompliant products online, according to Pat Bowling, vice president of communications at the American Home Furnishings Alliance.

Speaking at the AHFA Marketing and PR Conference during a presentation titled “Marketing’s Role in Promoting Product Safety,” Bowling said safety now involves more than compliance and testing. It also connects with product design, manufacturing and the way companies communicate with customers.

“As an industry, we have relied mostly on warning labels and maybe product instruction guides to carry the weight of communicating product safety,” she said. “But a proliferation of noncompliant products in the marketplace today is making it necessary for you to be more proactive.”

Overcoming resistance

Bowling said marketers may be reluctant to highlight safety in product promotions because they worry that doing so could take attention away from a product’s other selling points. Executives and legal teams may also be concerned that drawing attention to safety features could lead to additional scrutiny.

However, she said making health and safety information a regular part of product descriptions can benefit both individual companies and the broader furniture industry.

Marketers may also wonder whether there is value in promoting compliance with requirements that manufacturers are already legally required to follow. Bowling noted that federal flammability and stability requirements replaced voluntary standards that had previously allowed manufacturers to distinguish compliant products.

The online marketplace has changed that situation, she said, as more products that do not meet U.S. requirements are being offered for sale. As a result, compliance with mandatory regulations and adherence to voluntary standards can once again provide a point of differentiation.

Online Marketplace Raises Safety Concerns

Bowling highlighted products sold by third-party sellers, many of which are based overseas, through major online marketplaces. She said some sellers offer products without meeting U.S. safety requirements and can modify product names or dimensions after regulators identify a noncompliant item, allowing similar products to remain available.

According to Bowling, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued 17 dresser recalls in 2025 involving more than 200,000 units. So far this year, another 11 recalls have involved more than 230,000 units.

AHFA research has also identified products advertised as having an “anti-tip design” that failed stability testing, did not carry the required warnings or lacked a compliant anti-tip device.

For furniture companies, Bowling said safety testing and compliance can be communicated directly to consumers through both online product descriptions and in-store conversations.

“In online product descriptions and in in-store conversations with customers, it is absolutely worth noting that your products are tested to meet federal standards,” she said. “There’s absolutely no guarantee that the products consumers are seeing online may or may not meet federal regulatory standards.”

Making Safety Information More Visible

Bowling encouraged furniture companies to include straightforward compliance information and basic safety reminders in their product descriptions. For dressers and chests, for example, companies can remind consumers that the furniture should be anchored to the wall.

She said making health and safety information a standard part of product descriptions could help increase consumer awareness of furniture safety issues.

She also encouraged companies and retailers to take part in Furniture Safety Week, scheduled for Oct. 5-10. The annual campaign from AHFA and the Alliance for Safety aims to reduce injuries associated with home furnishings, with particular attention to children, older adults and other vulnerable groups.