Prohibits the sale of any children's product, upholstered furniture or mattress that contains textile fiberglass; prohibits any custom upholsterer from repairing, reupholstering, recovering, restoring or renewing upholstered furniture or reupholstered furniture using a replacement component that contains textile fiberglass.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8537
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the sale of any children's product, upholstered furniture or
mattress that contains textile fiberglass
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this legislation stipulates that.no person or manufacturer
can sell or distribute in commerce any new juvenile products, mattress-
es, or upholstered furniture which contain fiber glass and that a custom
upholsterer cannot repair, reupholster, recover, restore, or renew any
juvenile products, mattresses, upholstered furniture, reupholstered
furniture using fiberglass.
Section 2 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Over the past decade there has been a growing concern over the health
risks that are associated with interaction and or exposure to textile
fiberglass. Textile fiberglass has been linked to a variety of health
and environmental risks. Fiberglass is commonly used as a cheap fire
retardant in juvenile products, mattresses, and upholstered furniture.
The use of these materials has raised serious concerns due to their
toxicity and the long-lasting effects in the environment it is exposed
to. The textile fiberglass poses risks during handling, repair, or
reupholstery especially in unregulated environments.
This legislation follows suit with ongoing national and state efforts to
reduce hazardous chemicals in consumer products, especially those used
by children and other vulnerable consumers. California and the European
Union have recognized the dangers of fiberglass in juvenile products,
mattresses, and upholstered furniture and banned the sale of these
products that contain fiberglass. By following suit and prohibiting the
sale of these products that contain fiberglass, we will help promote
public health, better environmental practices, and a safer New York for
all New Yorkers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8537
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the sale of any children's product, upholstered furniture
or mattress that contains textile fiberglass
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 37-1001 of the environmental conservation law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision 14 to read as follows:
3 14. "Textile fiberglass" means textile yarns whose composition
4 includes one or more continuous glass filaments in a form suitable for
5 knitting, wearing, or otherwise intertwining to form a textile fabric,
6 but shall exclude the following:
7 (a) thread or fiber used for stitching mattress components together;
8 and
9 (b) yarns in which the glass filaments are core-spun or sheathed by
10 another fiber.
11 § 2. Section 37-1003 of the environmental conservation law is amended
12 by adding two new subdivisions 3 and 4 to read as follows:
13 3. Beginning July first, two thousand twenty-seven, no person shall
14 sell or offer for sale in the state of New York any new, not previously
15 owned, children's product, upholstered furniture or mattress, that
16 contains or a constituent component of which contains, textile fiber-
17 glass.
18 4. Beginning July first, two thousand twenty-seven, a custom uphol-
19 sterer in the state of New York shall not repair, reupholster, recover,
20 restore or renew upholstered furniture or reupholstered furniture using
21 a replacement component that contains, or a constituent component, of
22 which contains, textile fiberglass.
23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13138-01-5
