by Nearly 200 furniture manufacturers, importers, retailers and other industry resources take part in Oct. 6-10 event
HIGH POINT, N.C. — The second National Furniture Safety Week was held this week, with nearly 200 home furnishings companies participating.
In addition to individual manufacturers, importers and retailers, the following organizations have signed on as collaborators to help boost Furniture Safety Week’s campaign to raise awareness of home hazards involving furniture: Parents Against Tip-overs, Charlie’s House, International Association for Child Safety, FurnitureDealer.net, Furniture First Buying Group, Home Furnishings Association, International Home Furnishings Representatives Association, Arkansas Home Furnishings Association, American Society of Interior Designers, Interior Design Society, Baby Safety Alliance, Baby Safety Foundation and WithIt.
“Every segment of the home furnishings industry has a role to play in this effort,” said AHFA Vice President of Communications Patricia Bowling. “By concentrating these important furniture safety messages during this one defined time period each year, we can amplify our voice and raise awareness more effectively.”
The goal of Furniture Safety Week is to reduce furniture-related injuries, particularly those involving children. There is no cost to participate, and it is not too late to get involved in the 2025 campaign. AHFA has made a variety of resources available on the Furniture Safety Week pages of its Alliance4Safety.org website.
Topics spotlighted by this year’s campaign include:
Furniture tip-over. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 58 children have died since 2013 when a piece of furniture tipped over on them. Another 50 died during this same time period when a TV plus the furniture it was sitting on tipped over. Together these two types of accidents result in the death of at least one child every month.
Bunk beds. An estimated 36,000 children are injured playing on or jumping off bunk beds each year, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. Boys under 6 years old are injured most often, and children under 3 are more likely to sustain serious injuries.
Reclining furniture. In the past 10 years, eight children have died and many more were injured when they became trapped in or under a reclining chair. As a result, the voluntary standards organization, ASTM International, is working on a new safety specification for recliners.
Glass tabletops. More than 2.5 million Americans sustain injuries involving glass tabletops every year, according to a 2020 study by Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. The study of 3,000 incidents found most injuries occur among children under age 7.
TV tip-over. TV tip-over fatalities have been declining because of the rising popularity of wall-mounted flat-screen televisions. Many renters cannot wall mount, though, so unsecured TVs remain a significant hazard. Since 2013, 40 children have died from injuries sustained when a TV fell on them. Another 50 died when a TV plus the furniture it was sitting on fell.
A sixth potential hazard — secondhand furniture — has been added to the checklist this year. “With the impact of inflation and tariffs on an average family’s budget, it is likely more consumers will be looking at secondhand sources when shopping for furniture in coming months,” Bowling said. “We’ve added a Secondhand Furniture Safety Checklist to make sure families with small children are aware of potential hazards with some types of secondhand furniture.”
The Furniture Safety Week toolkit for participants includes one social media graphic spotlighting each of these hazards, plus four additional social media posts dedicated to preventing furniture tip-overs. The toolkit also includes safety checklists participants can share with consumers.
