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Popular Leather Sofa Falls Apart, Customers Complain..Today News.. (Jennifer Convertibles)
http://www.today.com/news/popular-leather-sofas-fall-apart-customers-complain-8C11073452_____________________________________________________________________________________
This is about a furniture store that does not keep its word ...Jennifer Convertibles.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Jeff Rossen and Josh Davis
September 5, 2013
Rose Zapotochny bought a leather sofa from Jennifer Convertibles in 2005 for nearly $1,700. But she says that within a year, it was already falling apart. “You sit on the couch and when you get up, parts of it peel off,” she said.
And it turns out she's not alone: Scores of customers are complaining about clumps of leather peeling away from couches sold by Jennifer Convertibles around the country. And many of those customers were sold a protection plan they believed would cover any problem.
Zapotochny paid $200 for her warranty. "Bumper to bumper," she said. "That's what they told me." But in the fine print, the warranty excludes "cracking and peeling."
TODAY cameras went undercover at two stores to see if the company's salespeople would disclose that exception. At one, the clerk got it right, admitting that wear and tear isn't covered, even if the leather starts cracking. "They don't cover that part," he said... But at a different Jennifer Convertibles, the saleswoman did not mention the exception. "We do have a protection plan for five years so if something happens, food and beverages, rips, cuts, tears, punctures, they're all covered: They get you a brand new sofa within five years," she said. "Definitely you should get the protection plan."
15 replies
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http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/environmental-health-policy-institute/flame-retardants.html
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About
This Month's Contributors
Flame Retardants: Is California's Victory the End of This Story?
Posted by Kathy Attar
Babies born in the U.S. have in their bodies the highest average concentrations of flame retardant chemicals of any infants in the world. How did this come to be? For decades, manufacturers have treated furniture cushions and upholstery with toxic chemicals to comply with a flammability standard set by a lone state, California.
Our latest Environmental Health Policy Institute looks at how this standard -- and the tons of toxic flame retardant chemicals it brought into our homes and lives -- affect our health and the health of our children. Exposure to flame-retardant chemicals has been linked to reproductive and developmental toxicity, hormonal disruption, immunotoxicity, lowered IQ and cancer. Many of these chemicals persist in the environment and can move up the food chain to reside in humans. One example is the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), a class of flame retardants; high levels of this chemical are found in the maternal blood serum of indigenous women of Alaska. Research also reveals that competitive gymnasts in the U.S. have three times the level of brominated flame retardant PentaBDE, in their bodies compared to the general population, due to its presence in gym mats. Read our Institute and find out more about flame retardants’ persistent and bio-accumulative nature and dangerous health effects.
Fortunately, the flammability standard was recently rejected by California Governor Jerry Brown, due primarily to the advocacy activities of a group of scientists and public health advocates. California’s victory will most likely have national implications as manufacturers no longer have to meet this outdated standard.
Read on to learn more about the campaign’s successes, as well as the current and future health implications of exposure to toxic flame retardants.
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About
Welcome to PSR's Environmental Health Policy Institute, where we ask questions -- then we ask the experts to answer them. Join us as physicians, health professionals, and environmental health experts share their ideas, inspiration, and analysis about toxic chemicals and environmental health policy.
This Month's Contributors
Courtney Carignan, PhD
Kristine Jinnett, PhD
Pamela K. Miller
Ami Zota, ScD, MS
Flame Retardants: Is California's Victory the End of This Story?
Posted by Kathy Attar
Babies born in the U.S. have in their bodies the highest average concentrations of flame retardant chemicals of any infants in the world. How did this come to be? For decades, manufacturers have treated furniture cushions and upholstery with toxic chemicals to comply with a flammability standard set by a lone state, California.
Our latest Environmental Health Policy Institute looks at how this standard -- and the tons of toxic flame retardant chemicals it brought into our homes and lives -- affect our health and the health of our children. Exposure to flame-retardant chemicals has been linked to reproductive and developmental toxicity, hormonal disruption, immunotoxicity, lowered IQ and cancer. Many of these chemicals persist in the environment and can move up the food chain to reside in humans. One example is the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), a class of flame retardants; high levels of this chemical are found in the maternal blood serum of indigenous women of Alaska. Research also reveals that competitive gymnasts in the U.S. have three times the level of brominated flame retardant PentaBDE, in their bodies compared to the general population, due to its presence in gym mats. Read our Institute and find out more about flame retardants’ persistent and bio-accumulative nature and dangerous health effects.
Fortunately, the flammability standard was recently rejected by California Governor Jerry Brown, due primarily to the advocacy activities of a group of scientists and public health advocates. California’s victory will most likely have national implications as manufacturers no longer have to meet this outdated standard.
Read on to learn more about the campaign’s successes, as well as the current and future health implications of exposure to toxic flame retardants.
<>
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/11/21/california-governor-jerry-brown-announces-new-furniture-flammability-standards/
California Governor Jerry Brown Announces New Furniture Flammability Standards
By Max Pringle
California Governor Jerry Brown has announced the approval of new state furniture flammability standards that will reduce the required levels of chemical flame retardants. Some retardants can pose a health risk.
(Sacramento, CA)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Russ Heimerich with the California Department of Consumer Affairs says prior flammability tests focused on the insides of furniture, while the new tests focus on areas where smoldering cigarettes and other heat sources would pose the greatest risk.
“They can either prove to us that their covering fabric meets the smolder test, or if it doesn’t, that they have a barrier underneath that covering fabric that does meet a smolder test,” says Heimerich.
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California Governor Jerry Brown Announces New Furniture Flammability Standards
By Max Pringle
California Governor Jerry Brown has announced the approval of new state furniture flammability standards that will reduce the required levels of chemical flame retardants. Some retardants can pose a health risk.
(Sacramento, CA)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Russ Heimerich with the California Department of Consumer Affairs says prior flammability tests focused on the insides of furniture, while the new tests focus on areas where smoldering cigarettes and other heat sources would pose the greatest risk.
“They can either prove to us that their covering fabric meets the smolder test, or if it doesn’t, that they have a barrier underneath that covering fabric that does meet a smolder test,” says Heimerich.
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