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HONG KONG, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In March 2015, Lumber Liquidators (LL), the largest retailer of hardwood flooring in North America, came under scrutiny following a critical report aired by 60 Minutes, one of the most esteemed news programmes on US television. The company was allegedly selling Chinese-made laminate flooring that exceeded the limits set out in the formaldehyde standards. The average level of formaldehyde in LL products was said to be more than six to seven times above the state standards. LL's share price plummeted 24% after the programme aired. Denny Larson, from a non-profit environmental group, and Richard Drury, a prominent environmental attorney, launched a joint lawsuit against LL, seeking the removal of all unqualified laminate flooring.
Is it true that Chinese manufacturers cut corners? How can Chinese flooring manufacturers turn the tide of negative opinion around? The chemical testing experts from TUV Rheinland, a world-leading third-party testing, inspection and certification company, conducted a comprehensive analysis of flooring manufacturers and consumers, based on their rich experience.
Background
On 1 March 2015, the news-magazine television programme 60 Minutes, which aired in the US on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) television network, disclosed that the largest flooring manufacturer in the US was selling unqualified laminate flooring made in Changzhou, Jiangsu province in China. The average level of formaldehyde exceeded the state standards by more than 6 to 7 times, with some samples close to 20 times above the allowed level. The programme sent investigators to three flooring factories in Changzhou, and the general manager of one of them openly admitted to falsely labelling the laminate flooring as CARB Phase 2 compliant.
CARB Phase 2, which lowered the limit on formaldehyde emissions for hardwood plywood (HWPW), particleboard (PB) and medium density fibreboard (MDF), was implemented in 2010. CARB not only requires all manufacturers of composite wood products to verify compliance with the standards, but also imposes strict requirements on furniture factories, importers, traders and retailers.
The traditional stereotype that "Chinese manufacturing cuts corners" used to negatively affect local flooring manufacturers. Jet Lee, Department Manager of the Material Testing Service in the TUV Rheinland Greater China Softlines Division, indicated that formaldehyde emissions from laminate flooring can be controlled by improving production processes or using eco-friendly glues. Most "formaldehyde-free" flooring reduces formaldehyde emissions by using alternative glues that contain low levels of formaldehyde or are formaldehyde-free. However, these environmentally friendly glues are not widely applied because of their high cost. How, then, can Chinese flooring manufacturers shake off their negative image? What can overseas buyers do to safeguard their brand reputation?
First step in solving a problem: clarify the cause
CARB sets strict standards for formaldehyde emissions in the US, covering the whole value chain. There are strict compliance requirements for every segment, from original laminate manufacturers to final product processing, consumers and end retailers. The CARB label requires a product to meet stringent standards and show evidence of compliance in every segment of the value chain before it can enter the next segment. Meanwhile, for products on sale, it should be possible to trace information such as the place of processing, the manufacturing site of the boards, production time, batch, whether tested and so on.
Lee said that there were several possible reasons behind the latest claim. First, flooring manufacturers may have acquired certification through fraud and loopholes in some test areas. For example, they might have provided qualified products for testing and certification, and later produced and sold products totally different from the test samples to cheat consumers. Second, the luck of some factories and buyers drove them to take chances. In a bid to lower costs and secure higher margins, they failed to carry out strict quality control of formaldehyde emissions. Third, the retailers did not supervise the wood flooring on sale – they probably did not have any means of self-inspection.
One of the key clues in the incident could have taken place in the second stage. The final product processing factories (flooring manufacturers) might not have carried out CARB management control, and this negligence led to falsely labelled products entering the market. The finding was evident when an investigation was carried out in the end market: the buyer (LL) had not conducted on-site inspections on the CARB-labelled flooring.
The booming certification market may be another reason, thanks to the development of manufacturing and the huge number of exporters. Local certification companies continue to emerge, creating furious competition in the industry. Some of these certification companies have resorted to sacrificing service quality to reduce costs and capture market share. CARB certification, which has been similarly affected, has sometimes involved false labelling or non-qualified enterprises being awarded certification.
TUV Rheinland offers to team up with manufacturers to defend their brand reputations
With its reliable inspection intelligence, rich experience in testing and verification in terms of CARB certification, TUV Rheinland could be considered the best partner for laminate flooring factories and international buyers. CARB is currently one of the most stringent standards for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. Production plants and laboratories must establish strict quality management systems in accordance with regulatory requirements to monitor their own products and ensure that each batch of factory-produced products qualifies.
TUV Rheinland was accredited as a CARB certification organisation in July 2009. The company is entitled to test the formaldehyde emissions of HWPW, PB and MDF and provide grand CARB certification. In November 2009, TUV Rheinland was authorised by IKEA as its third party cooperation lab for CARB certification, and started to provide comprehensive inspection and certification services for the company's vendors (on the basis of IKEA standard: IOS-MAT-0003:2009).
TUV Rheinland also provides a one-stop service to guarantee product quality from industrial chain segmentation. It can support laminate wood product manufacturers in developing proper small-scale testing methods and CARB quality control lines to give primary testing and inspection capabilities to manufacturers and reduce unqualified products. TUV Rheinland also provides independent on-site factory audits and inspections, and makes sure all TUV Rheinland-certified products comply with CARB requirements. In addition, it offers training courses covering CARB testing methods, updates on CARB regulations and formaldehyde testing standards. Such courses aim to assist laminate wood product manufacturers in enhancing their inspection capabilities and learning new regulations and standards to guarantee that their products meet the entry standards of export markets.
Why does wood flooring contain formaldehyde?
Floor coverings constitute one of the main categories of construction materials and the poisonous flooring scandal was related to laminate flooring, a type of floor covering. This kind of flooring is made of laminate boards, including MDF, plywood and particleboard. Glue is a crucial raw material in board production, and the most popular glue is made of a phenolic resin with formaldehyde as a main raw material. The formaldehyde in the glue is released into the air over the lifespan of the flooring, which was the culprit in this incident.
CONTACT: Simon Hung, Tel: +852-2192-1948, Email: Simon.Hung@tuv.com
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