At Twenty10 Designs, all our furniture is produced with fire safety in mind, especially the products with fabric upholstery and cushioning.
We make sure each fabric incorporates an appropriate level of flame retardancy for its intended use. Many of our newest products, part of the Everyday Living lines, are treated to meet Crib 5 standards — required for furniture used in commercial and hospitality settings. Other furniture uses GreenFR, a novel flame-retardant, eco-friendly coating developed for domestic use where full Crib 5 compliance is not necessary.
This range allows specifiers to meet fire safety requirements across a variety of projects while ensuring that every upholstered piece offers tested protection.
Fire testing for upholstered furniture assesses how materials respond to ignition sources. The process begins with two initial assessments: the cigarette test and the match test.
For the cigarette test, a lit cigarette is placed on the fabric and allowed to burn out. The material must not ignite or smoulder to pass. The match test follows, where a lit match is held to the surface for twenty seconds. The fabric must again show no sustained burning or smouldering.
Fabrics that pass these first stages can then undergo the Crib 5 test, also known as Ignition Source 5. In this test, a small wooden crib made of five tiers is placed on the material and ignited. To pass, the flame must extinguish within ten minutes without burning through or smouldering the cover or the base foam.
Passing Crib 5 confirms that a fabric is fire-retardant, meaning it slows flame spread and self-extinguishes more quickly than untreated materials. This level of protection is essential in shared or public environments, where fire safety regulations are stringent.
Crib 5 performance is achieved through the application of a specialised back coating on the reverse of upholstery fabrics. This coating forms a barrier that resists ignition and prevents flames from penetrating the material once exposed to heat.
All Crib 5 fabrics used by Twenty10 Designs are independently tested and certified to ensure suitability for contract use. Furniture in these fabrics can be used in hotels, guest houses, care homes, student accommodation, holiday camps, public buildings, healthcare facilities, youth hostels and other commercial interiors where higher levels of fire protection are mandated.
Because the treatment is applied to the back of the fabric, the coating provides a reliable and consistent layer of protection throughout the furniture’s lifespan without affecting the usability of the textile.
For settings that do not require Crib 5 performance, Twenty10 Designs offers fabrics treated with GreenFR, an environmentally responsible flame-retardant coating. GreenFR enables fabrics to pass the cigarette and match tests, making them suitable for domestic use and lower-risk contract environments such as private rental apartments.
GreenFR is non-toxic, recyclable, and free from halogens, heavy metals, and other harmful substances. It provides dependable flame resistance while reducing environmental and health impact throughout the product’s lifecycle.
The coating holds several recognised environmental credentials, including:
By specifying GreenFR, designers and procurement professionals can meet essential safety requirements while selecting materials that align with responsible manufacturing and sustainable end-of-life disposal.