TB 117-2013, the small label on a big cushion

Turn over a cushion or look under the seat of an upholstered sofa sold in the United States, and you will find a label that names TB 117-2013. It applies to Flexform outdoor sofas and daybeds as much as to an indoor armchair. The label is small and the wording is dry, but it answers two questions buyers ask us: does this piece meet the fire standard, and is there anything added to the foam.

Where the smolder test comes from

TB 117-2013 is a California standard for upholstered furniture. In the test a lit cigarette smolders on the cover fabric, with the filling beneath, and the lab watches what follows. California wrote it, and sellers apply it across the country, since a maker would gain little from a separate sofa for one state.

The rule covers upholstered pieces: sofas, armchairs, daybeds, ottomans with padding, headboards. A table or a woven chair with no cushion falls outside it.

The label and its wording

The tag measures 2 by 3 inches or more and stays on for good, unlike a shirt tag you snip off. It states compliance with TB 117-2013, and beside that sits a box that says whether the fillings contain added flame retardant chemicals. If that second point matters to you, ask before you order, and we will give you the answer in writing.

Two Flexform examples

Atlante, by Antonio Citterio, is a sofa and daybed system on a 316 stainless steel base with water-repellent elastic webbing. Its seat cushion uses polyester fiber with an insert in a single-density crushproof material, covered in water-repellent fabric. The backrest and armrests have molded polyurethane and dacron padding under a protective laminated fabric, and the upholstery on top comes off. Those padded parts are what the label covers. See the Atlante collection.

Eddy, from the Flexform design center, is a chaise longue with a frame in 316 stainless steel wrapped in hand-woven polypropylene cord. The woven frame has no filling. The seat and back cushions do: polyurethane foam, and on the back foam with polyester fiber, each inside a protective water-repellent laminated fabric. The label goes with the cushions. See the Eddy collection.

Prop 65 and the certificate

Proposition 65 is a separate California rule. When an item carries one of the listed chemicals past its threshold, buyers get a warning, either on the item or where it is sold. Many sellers place the warning nationwide. If a piece you order needs one, the quote says so.

Behind the label sits a certificate of conformity, based on tests by a lab the CPSC accepts, and it names the standard the piece meets. It stays in the file, and you can ask us for it.

Your order and the label

You do not have to do anything to receive a labeled piece. The questions worth asking are about the fillings: whether they contain added flame retardants, and whether the fabric you picked changes anything. The fabric choice on a Flexform order is wide, and the answer can depend on it.

Keep the labels on. They tell a future buyer or a building manager what the piece is, and a hotel or a rental may ask for them.

For a hotel, a restaurant terrace or a rental, check with the operator before you order. Contract projects sometimes follow their own fire rules on top of the label, set by the building or the local authority, and the fabric and filling you choose can change the answer. Tell us about the project in the form, and we raise it with the factory while we quote.

Ask about the label

Name the pieces and fabric on your shortlist in the form below, with the label question if you have one. We reply with a written price and the answer about fillings and notices for each piece.