Mattresses, pillows and bedding

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — REACH
• Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 — textile labelling for covers
• National fire safety rules

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing mattresses and bedding on the EU market, including compressed bed-in-a-box brands shipping directly to consumers.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Fire performance requirements are national rather than harmonised, so a mattress compliant in one member state can be unlawful in another.

What must appear on the label

Manufacturer and responsible person details with an EU address, dimensions, batch or production date, fibre composition of textile covers, care instructions, and warnings on use, in particular for children's mattresses regarding firmness and gap fit in a cot.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces check the responsible person block. Compressed mattresses have attracted complaints over off-gassing, and claims such as 'orthopaedic' or 'anti-allergy' are treated as substantiable claims rather than marketing language.

Documentation you must hold

Technical documentation and risk analysis covering flammability, chemical emissions, mechanical durability and, for children's products, entrapment. Test reports. REACH evidence for flame retardants, phthalates and formaldehyde. Fibre composition documentation for covers.

Standards and testing

Durability and firmness testing under EN 1957. Flammability testing to the national requirement — the cigarette and match tests under EN 597, and the stricter UK schedule where sold there. Volatile organic compound emission testing for foam. Formaldehyde and flame retardant screening under REACH.

Language requirements

Care instructions, fibre composition and warnings in the language of each member state of sale.

When it applies

Before the product is made available.

How long records are kept

Ten years for the documentation.

What happens if you do not comply

Withdrawal and fines, and in fire-related cases substantial civil liability. Health claims without evidence bring consumer protection action separately from product law.

Who enforces it

National market surveillance and consumer protection authorities, and fire safety authorities in states with specific requirements.

Where the boundary lies

Fire performance is not harmonised, so an EU-wide specification does not exist and the applicable test depends on where you sell. A cot mattress is a childcare article with additional dimensional and firmness expectations, and the gap between mattress and cot side is a recognised suffocation hazard.

Questions we are asked

Is there one EU fire standard for mattresses?

No. Requirements are national, and the United Kingdom and Ireland historically apply the strictest schedules. Selling across the Union means meeting the strictest market you serve or varying the product.

Can we claim our mattress is orthopaedic?

Only with evidence. Medical-sounding claims can also push the product toward the medical device regime if they promise treatment of a condition.