Attack on Formaldehyde Levels In Imported Furniture

20 February 2008

The Furnishing Industry Association of Australia (FIAA) has launched a national consumer campaign to counteract the high levels of formaldehyde found in the flood of imported furniture into Australia.
The FIAA has attacked Australian regulations that allow foreign products to enter Australia containing excessive levels of dangerous chemicals, harmful to both people and the environment.
Formaldehyde is used as an additive to the adhesive resin used in the manufacture of wood products such as medium density fibreboard (MDF) and particleboard.
Flat packs of furniture, especially kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and entertainment furniture, increasingly are containing excessive levels of highly toxic lead or formaldehyde.
“Australian consumers are buying cheap imported products that are potentially quite dangerous to themselves, their families, their children, and those that install them,” Martin Lewis, chief executive of FIAA NSW, said.
“The FIAA is concerned the offending products will continue to flood the market because there is no legislation in place which requires imported products must comply with Australian standards.”
The campaign is supported by two peak industry bodies, Good Environmental Choice Australia and the Australian Wood Panels Association (AWPA).
All Australian manufacturers of particleboard and MDF are members of the AWPA, including companies such as Laminex Australia. “Our members commit to the Australian/NZ Standard 1859,” AWPA executive director Bruce Steenson said.
The cornerstone of the FIAA campaign is a new swing tag for furniture, which carries a ‘peace-of-mind’ assurance for the consumer advising that the maker of the product is association endorsed.

Emissions Trading Must Promote Benefits Of Wood

A major report has confirmed that key design decisions in the development of Australia’s carbon emissions trading scheme will determine if the greenhouse benefits of timber will be acknowledged.
The report, Impact of Carbon Trading on Wood Products, prepared by Ms Alison George from Monash University, was released this week by Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA).
While the role of forests in carbon sequestration is well recognised, the report highlights the need for further recognition of the carbon stored in harvested wood products.
Ms George’s report identifies a number of trading scheme design issues that will influence the extent to which the carbon benefits of timber are recognised.
These issues include short-term compensation to high emitting industries competing with wood; level of compliance with the United Nation’s Kyoto agreement rules; the lifespan of wood products for which carbon credits, or partial credits, will be provided; and emission savings made when wood-based fuels are substituted for fossil fuels.
Managing director of FWPA Dr Glen Kile said Australia’s emissions trading scheme must acknowledge the superior greenhouse properties of wood products compared to competing products such as steel, concrete and aluminium.
“Growing forests absorbs carbon which is stored in the trees and in the wood products harvested from native and plantation forests,” Kile said. “The manufacturing of wood products uses less energy and results in lower emissions than non-wood products
such as steel, concrete and aluminium.”
A copy of the report is available from FWPA, and can be downloaded from the FWPA website: www.fwpa.com.au

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