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August 19, 2010 -
Boyd Specialty Sleep has become the
first mattress manufacturer in the United
States to adopt the new safety and
environmental standards created by the
Specialty Sleep Association (SSA) designed
to help consumers better understand what is
inside their mattresses. Boyd is placing the
SSA Safety & Environmental Program (SEP)
seal on its NaturalFlex latex mattresses,
and its PlanetSleep, visco-memory foam
mattresses. Both mattresses, along with the
seal, received a tremendous response from
retailers at the recent Las Vegas Furniture
Market held the first week in August. The
mattresses are expected to be on retailer
floors in the next few weeks.
The SSA’s SEP is the first time the
mattress industry has come together to
better educate and inform consumers of the
components in the sleep products they buy.
After more than a year of research and
industry involvement, the fast-growing
specialty trade association has created a
two-step seal and contents label program
that will appear on mattresses from
manufacturers who voluntarily join the
program that informs the consumer about the
minimum environmental and safety compliance
levels the particular product adheres to,
along with a label that lists components in
the mattress. Consumers wanting further
information beyond the seal and label will
be able to go the SSA’s website for more
detailed information and contact the
organization if they wish to learn more
about a specific manufacturer’s component
filing.
The Boyd mattresses in the program
display the group’s Level I seal, which
means the company has met all federal safety
flammability requirements; provided a
warrantee for the product; met all safety
requirements for children’s products if
applicable; disclosed material construction
with a descriptive label content; will
participate in an annual survey to identify
carbon footprint issues and has committed to
continuous improvement; and met standards
set by the Montreal Protocol Act when
applicable, for reduction or elimination of
ozone depleting substances.
The SSA’s SEP seal is a real breakthrough
for the consumer…
“The first time I learned of the seal I was
ecstatic and wanted to be a part of the
program. The SSA’s SEP seal is a real
breakthrough for the consumer and empowers
them to see what a manufacturer is doing to
actively assure the safety and environmental
friendliness of their products,” said Dennis
Boyd, the founder and president of Boyd
Specialty Sleep. “The retail response we saw
a few weeks ago in Las Vegas to our products
carrying the seal exceeded our expectations
and I believe a further indication that the
SSA has really solved one of the great
challenges our industry has faced in recent
memory by finding a way to bring us all
together around the issue of safety and
environmental sensitivity to the products we
sell.”
“Purchasing safe and environmentally
friendly products is an overwhelming concern
of consumers. The SEP program represents the
best way to finally deliver a clear message,
through a revolutionary new label and
education program, that the bedding industry
is listening to that concern. The SSA is
proud to have taken a leadership role in
this important task of creating clarity in
defining the broad terms being used to
define environmentally friendly products as
part of our ongoing mission to promote
natural, healthier and safer sleep solutions
for consumers,” said SSA President Dale
Read. “The SEP program represents a
unification of suppliers, manufacturers and
retailers around a set of environmental
terms and definitions that will reduce
confusion and bolster sales from consumers
anxious to purchase environmentally friendly
products.”
Boyd Specialty Sleep, founded in 1977, has a
manufacturing center and eight retail
locations in the St. Louis area, and a
second manufacturing facility in Fontana,
CA. The company’s 125 employees sell more
than 400,000 mattresses each year made of
innovative visco-memory foam, latex, air and
water technologies. The company holds more
than 30 product patents, is a member of the
Small Business Hall of Fame and has been
recognized five times by Inc. magazine as
one of the nation’s fastest growing
companies.
Founded in 1995, the Specialty Sleep
Association (SSA) is a national
not-for-profit organization created to
facilitate the growth and positive awareness
of the specialty sleep category. Its members
develop and/or sell specialty sleep
products, including natural and organic
bedding, latex, memory foam, air, gel,
water, adjustable, new spring technologies
and related products. SSA membership
includes more than 100 manufacturers and
retailers ranging from small, family-owned
businesses to large corporations.
For more information regarding the
SSA, please contact Executive Director
Tambra Jones at 559-868-4187 or
559-676-8639,
tambra@sleepinformation.org.
For more information about Boyd
Specialty Sleep Mattresses, please visit
www.boydspecialtysleep.com. |
