The International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) is the trade association for the mattress industry.  ISPA was founded over 100 years ago to promote consistent bedding laws in states and the accurate disclosure of the materials used in mattresses. Our support for this issue was in part to combat unscrupulous parties whose deceptive practices were misleading and endangering consumers.  Unfortunately, these problems persist today which is why ISPA supports state bedding laws and their enforcement.

ISPA and the mattress industry strongly support Virginia’s Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Law (VA Code § 32.1-212 - § 32.1-226) and the Regulations for Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Inspection Program (12VAC5-125).  

The law and regulations protect consumers’ public health and safety and promote welfare in several ways.  The requirement that used material be sanitized prior to reuse protects consumers from unsanitary used mattresses that may contain bed bugs, allergens such as dust mite feces, mold spores, and bodily fluids. The law and regulations also protect consumers by requiring the disclosure of whether a mattress is a new product or one that has previously used and whether it has been properly sanitized.

The law and regulations also minimize economic impact on small businesses by allowing reciprocity with other states that have similar bedding laws requiring registration and labeling.  Small businesses may register with Virginia and meet the requirements of other states by using one Virginia-compliant law label without having to register elsewhere.  Virginia also accepts registrations and labels from other states.  This saves money and compliance efforts and costs by eliminating the need to register in multiple jurisdictions.

Finally, the regulations are clearly written and well understood by the mattress industry as they follow similar regulations in other states.   However, a recent issue has caused confusion among the industry and we suggest it be clarified within the regulations.

Recently, a number of states with bedding laws decided to no longer require that “Date of Delivery” be included on the mattress label.  Although there is no specific provision to require “Date of Delivery” in the Virginia law or the regulations, the sample law labels included in section 12VAC5-125-90 shows a “Date of Delivery” line.   This has led to concern among the industry as Virginia has become on outlier and continued to enforce this requirement until recently.  This has added costs for many in the industry as they have had to alter their labels solely for Virginia for a requirement that does not provide any public health or welfare benefit to consumers.  In addition, “Date of Delivery” does not need to be disclosed to the consumer on the label as the purchase date already appears on the consumer’s receipt.  In order to clarify that “Date of Delivery” is not required, this text should be removed from the sample labels shown as Attachments 1, 2, 3 and 7 in section 12VAC5-125-90 and any reference to “Date of Delivery” should be deleted.

We continue to support Virginia’s efforts to promote consumers’ health and safety when purchasing and using mattresses.  Please contact me with any questions you may have.

Christopher B. Hudgins
Vice President, Government Relations and Policy
International Sleep Products Association