BioFit Product Compliance
BioFit products meet or exceed industry benchmarks for safety, performance and sustainability per the following standards and certifications.
Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA)
BIFMA Compliant® is the commercial furniture industry’s registry of standards-conforming products.
Many BioFit seating products have been tested and comply with ANSI/BIFMA X5.1 safety and durability standards. Refer to the individual seating product pages for additional information.
CAL 117 Standard
All BioFit upholstered seating products meet the California Technical Bulletin 117 (CAL 117) fire retardant standard, which regulates upholstered furniture flammability. The intent of the standard is to regulate production of upholstered furniture which is safer from the hazards associated with smoldering ignition. This standard provides methods for smolder resistance of cover fabrics, barrier materials and resilient filling materials for use in upholstered furniture. While the regulation is only legally binding in the state of California, it has become a nationwide standard within the furniture manufacturing industry.
Read about the bulletin on the State of California website or download the bulletin.
CAL 133 and Boston Fire Code Requirements
BioFit will no longer offer CAL 133–configured seating products for purchase in the City of San Francisco, effective immediately, and in the State of California, effective January 1, 2020. See details in the full bulletin.
BioFit offers special upholsteries, foam or barriers as needed to meet California Technical Bulletin 133 (CAL 133) and Boston Fire Code requirements as an option on many seating products. However, due to the January 1, 2019 enactment of San Francisco Ordinance No. 211-17, which bans the use of fire retardant chemicals in upholstered seating sold into the city, and the January 1, 2020 adoption of California Assembly Bill - 2998, which bans the use of fire retardant chemicals in upholstered seating, BioFit will no longer offer CAL 133–configured seating products for purchase in the City of San Francisco, effective immediately, and in the State of California, effective January 1, 2020.
CA Prop 65
In accordance with California Proposition 65, BioFit makes information available regarding the chemical content of our products.
What is California Proposition 65?
Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, is a law requiring warnings to be provided to California consumers when they may be exposed to chemicals identified by California as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. These warnings are intended to help California consumers make informed decisions about their exposure to these chemicals from the products they use. There are over 850 chemicals on the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) list of carcinogens or reproductive toxicants. Many of the listed chemicals and substances are common ingredients and materials found in a variety of household goods such as soaps, clothing, jewelry, appliances, automobiles and furniture.
In August 2016, OEHHA established new regulations taking effect on August 30, 2018. A Proposition 65 Warning Label is since required by law on all products that contain or may contain any of the listed chemicals. Although a product has a Proposition 65 warning label, it does not mean the given product violates safety standards or requirements in its respective industry.
Wood dust is one of the substances found on the Proposition 65 list of potentially harmful materials. As some of our products may contain wood dust or one of the other substances identified on the Proposition 65 list, we are required to include Proposition 65 warnings on all of our products.
Under California law, there is a risk for not warning consumers and, therefore, the specified warning label is placed on each product that BioFit Engineered Products manufactures. In compliance with Proposition 65, the specific labels read: “This product can expose you to chemicals including wood dust, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov”.
Effective August 30, 2018, BioFit began applying a warning label to every product we make regardless of its destination.
At BioFit Engineered Products, we take the health and safety of our employees and customers seriously. We are committed to making aesthetically pleasing, superior-quality furniture that lasts for generations. Be assured that we do everything possible to prevent harmful chemicals from coming into contact with you and your family.
For more information, visit https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/general-info/proposition-65-plain-language.
GREENGUARD Gold Certification
All BioFit Tables are GREENGUARD® Gold Certified
GREENGUARD Gold Certification (formerly known as GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification) offers stricter certification criteria, considers safety factors to account for sensitive individuals (such as children and the elderly), and ensures that a product is acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. It is referenced by both the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Building Rating System.
The GREENGUARD Gold standard includes health-based criteria for additional chemicals and requires lower total VOC emissions levels to ensure that products are acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to limiting emissions of more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions, the GREENGUARD Gold Certification requirements comply with the State of California’s Department of Public Health Services Standard Practice for Specification Section 01350 (California Section 01350) for testing chemical emissions from building products used in schools and other environments. As such, GREENGUARD Gold Certified products can be used to earn valuable credits in the CHPS Best Practices Manual for K–12 schools, the US Green Building Council's LEED® Green Building Rating Systems, the Green Guide for Healthcare, the NAHB Green Building Guidelines, Green Globes, Regreen and many other building codes, standards and specifications. Office Furniture products that are GREENGUARD Gold Certified are also compliant with the BIFMA X7.1 standard and BIFMA e3 credits 7.6.1, 7.6.2, and 7.6.3.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)
BioFit Seating and Tables are LEED® Compliant
BioFit Seating products comply with indoor air quality requirements set forth by Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA) Furniture Emissions Standards. Subsequently, specifiers of any BioFit seating product for use in commercial interiors are eligible to receive credits under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program.
BioFit voluntarily submitted sample seating to Berkeley Analytical Associates in Richmond, California, for objective, third-party testing of volatile organic compound emission levels. The evaluation was conducted in accordance with certification requirements per the 2011 Test method ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2011 (Furniture & Seating) Acceptance criteria ANSI/BIFMA X7.1-2011 + ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014e Sec 7.6.1 & 7.6.2. Product emissions during the 168-hour test period were measured to determine the levels of potential pollutants. In addition to total VOCs, measurements included emissions of other select, harmful compounds including a variety of aldehydes. At the end of the evaluation, it was determined that BioFit seating successfully met the ANSI/BIFMA requirements, and by doing so was also rated compliant under the requirements of LEED® CI EQ Credit 4.5, Low Emitting Material, Systems Furniture and Seating, Option C.
Additionally, all BioFit tables are GREENGUARD Gold certified. As such, these products can be used to earn valuable LEED® credits as well as credits under the NAHB Green Building Guidelines and other building codes, standards and specifications.
For more information on ANSI/BIFMA Standard M7.1-2011, visit www.bifma.org.