The Purpose of the FFA
The Flammable Fabrics Act (available in PDF and Text), was passed in 1953 to regulate the manufacture of highly flammable clothing, such as brushed rayon sweaters and children's cowboy chaps. The Flammable Fabrics Act of 1953 originally placed enforcement authority with the Federal Trade Commission. In 1967, Congress amended the Flammable Fabrics Act to expand its coverage to include interior furnishings as well as paper, plastic, foam and other materials used in wearing apparel and interior furnishings. Responsibility for administering the FFA was transferred to the CPSC when it was created in 1972. Under the Flammable Fabrics Act, CPSC can issue mandatory flammability standards. Standards have been established for the flammability of clothing textiles, vinyl plastic film (used in clothing), carpets and rugs, children's sleepwear and mattresses and mattress pads.
Continuing Guaranty under the Flammable Fabrics Act
Advisory Opinions
Help companies understand the meaning and application of CPSC's laws.
Federal Regulations Associated with the Act
The Federal regulations for the FFA are found in Title 16 CFR parts 1602 through 1632.
The FFA is available above in text and PDF format. PDF (Portable Document Format) requires use of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The PDF version of the FFA has a clickable hyperlinked table of contents. To activate
this feature, open the document in Acrobat Reader, click 
on the Navigation Pane icon, next to the printer icon. If the table of contents does not appear, click on the "Bookmarks." tab. The statutory citations in red are clickable hyperlinks to the statutory text.
All five statutes are available in a single book, with an index, from the
Office of the Secretary, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814-4408