We’ll start off by saying that there isn’t one simple answer to assessing whether the study furniture you and your child have been eyeing is of good quality and is as safe as “safe” can be. That is, no actual inspection that can happen on your end without buying it first and testing it out yourself. Until now (Insert: Mission Impossible’s iconic soundtrack 😎).

Buying fittings only to find out that they’re not as advertised? Old news. This time around (and after having gone through this blog 😏), you’ll be a ready-er and wiser furniture buyer because now, you’ll know how to do quality checks on products based on certifications from notable international evaluation boards.

Big names may not always indicate supercalifragilistic furniture. However, big names in quality control and safety boards DO. So… let’s get to it, SingBee fam! So before going full throttle on any children’s chairs and desks for youths and toddlers, we’ve Avengers-Assembled a list of quality, safety, and product assessors and reviewers (ones that matter, anyway 💯🔥) you should watch out for when in the quest of finding the best ergonomic chair and desk for kids. 

1. TÜV Rheinland

Everyone’s often surprised to learn that TÜV Rheinland has been around for over a century. We know we were. And that’s 150+ years and counting if we really add the numbers up!😮🤩 To this day, they continue to be among the foremost testing service providers for products, processes, management systems, and technologies in a plethora of industries.

They’ve recently implemented codes that are aligned with global efforts toward reducing negative environmental impacts. And this doesn’t just revolve around the furniture products themselves. But this also means that manufacturers are closely monitored to en

What This Means for You:

• Quality assurance in material type and class
• Quality assurance in manufacturing
• Kid’s office chair and desk product safety
• Planet-friendly in materials, material sourcing, manufacturing, and production

2. GS - Geprüfte Sicherheit

Geprüfte Sicherheit, or “GS” as its abbreviation connotes, is an easily identifiable trademark that signifies product safety. “Geprüfte Sicherheit” literally translates to “Tested Safety”, and encompasses the acquisition of a span of qualifiers too detailed to include in our humble and meager blog.😅

They serve as an independent certification/testing entity that proceeds with type-tests for meeting all the safety requirements of the Product Safety Act (ProdSG). At the same time, they conduct reviews to ascertain that products (or product series, etc.) distributed in the market match the ProdSG’s control measures.

What This Means for You:

• Product safety (pre, post-assemblage)
• Design safety
• Consumer safety and health when using the product
• Manufacturer and distributor trust (practices, processes, etc.); local and international

GS highly values voluntary testing with a 2-pronged vision (an oversimplification of what they do and stand for 🙏): secure product excellence while keeping manufacturers, distributors, and importers on their toes by being consistent in upholding reliable, reputable, and safe practices.

3. BIFMA 

BIFMA, or Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association, is supremely centered on 1 specific commodity: furniture. Volunteering for a BIFMA certification means that a company or a brand is willing to have its products and practices scrutinized in order to meet global standards in terms of performance, durability, safety, social responsibility, and sustainability.

Furniture products that sit under the microscope of BIFMA are examined and evaluated with the aim of identifying product authenticity and verification. The aim? Buyer confidence and recommendation. In fact, the accrediting body even takes a peak (a very comprehensive peak) into employee and machinery safety during production.

What This Means for You:

• Quality assurance of furniture materials and production standards
• Product and brand trust
• Avoiding the purchase of counterfeit products
• Assurance of product and practice (manufacturing) sustainability

4. ISO

“ISO-certified”. You’ve probably heard this statement with regards to other everyday commodities like food and medicines. But furniture?🤔 Enter, the International Organization for Standardization and their all-encompassing scope which includes furniture. And the truth of the matter is that not all furniture brands and manufacturers haven’t actually passed the ISO’s guidelines. Even some very familiar labels.🙈

The Switzerland-based organization develops a series of standards that hem in a wide array of products and has an even broader set of specifications, reports, guides, and corrigenda for each one. Very technical. Very detailed. 

Originally established in the 1920s as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations, they had a speed bump of a suspension due to the onslaught of WWII. But out from the rubble, the ISO was reborn. Stronger than ever before. To this day, they continue to provide commons standards for a vast number of countries wor

What This Means for You:

• Quality assurance of materials and product type
• Assurance of material and product reliability
• Overall safety
• Awareness of the level of environmental impact of products and/or services

5. SGS

Société Générale de Surveillance, as the organization’s name suggests, is a leader in surveilling and inspecting product quality, as well as standards upheld in laboratories, offices, and manufacturing sites.

Similar to the rest of the big names in this roster, the SGS works closely with multitudes of international firms and dozens of industries and their experts so that businesses are able to comply with standards that guarantee not only their own productions’ quality and safety but that of their products and services, too. 

What This Means for You:

• Products manufactured and evaluated via international measures
• Business practices that lead to the consistent production of quality products
• Reliability of products in tandem with their value

6. CTI

Centre Testing International Co. Ltd. offers services for certifying, inspecting, testing, calibrating, auditing, training, and other related facilities. They issue tests, certifications, and reports in different parts of the globe year on year.

Apart from quality and safety, the private third-party research institution advocates compliance and competitiveness (among others), so that entities and/or companies continue to maintain high standards in manufacturing and production.

Among the many branches of their services includes Product Certification, and under the said branch is a separate body for mandatorily evaluating children’s toys and other commodities.

What This Means for You:

• Knowledge of product certification regarding quality, health impact, and safety
• Trust that the value of products coincides with quality and brand integrity
• Confidence in measures taken to secure products are child-safe

You made it, fam! First of all, thank you for bearing with us throughout this blog.🙈 We tried to remove as much technical jargon as possible because many times, consumers, more importantly, parents need to be informed about the hows and the whys behind the kind of furniture they should buy for their kids. For your kids.❤️

Last but not least, the statements we’ve nutshell-ized are super duper conservative. They’ve been simplified so that families can immediately get the gist of what marvelous works these certifying and evaluating bodies actually do in real life. 

On that note, moms and dads, be eagle-eyed in screening children’s work desks and chairs that carry these names under their hoods, and those that don’t. There’s no overkill in this context. More certifications for quality and safety will tell you that a company or brand is genuinely dedicated to bringing your child the best study furniture. 

Where, then, should you start? 

Start with SingBee.🥰

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