New Testing Service for Baby Sleeping Bags
Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services UK are launching a new testing service for baby sleep bags
Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services UK, located in Warrington, Cheshire, is pleased to announce that it has launched a new testing service for children’s sleep bags to the BS 8510 standard, which includes the measurement of the tog (Thermal Overall Grade) value. The UK laboratory becomes one of the only few in the world to carry out a full compliance test to this standard.
Baby sleep bags are a popular alternative to blankets and sheets and remove the need for additional bedding when sleeping in a cot or similar product. They were introduced in an effort to reduce the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, known as “Cot Death” in the UK. They are designed to keep children of 4 kg or more at a comfortable temperature through the night and, as opposed to adult sleeping bags, they are intended for indoor use. Baby sleep bags are given a “tog” rating according to the warmth they provide.
Baby sleep bags need to comply with the minimum performance requirements of the BS 8510:2009 standard - “Child use and care articles. Safety of children's sleep bags. Safety requirements and test methods”. This standard does not apply to garments with sleeves and feet, i.e. sleep suits or babygrows, or to products designed primarily for outdoor use or to keep children warm when in a pushchair. Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services UK, can now test baby sleep bags to BS 8510:2009; a standard that includes specifications on chemical hazards, thermal hazards, mechanical hazards (e.g. entrapment, entanglement, choking and ingestion, suffocation, structural integrity) and flammability.
The UK laboratory is one of the few laboratories in the world to be able to measure the tog value of baby sleep bags. The tog is a measure of thermal resistance of a unit area, also known as thermal insulance, commonly used in the British textile industry. The higher the tog value, the greater is the thermal insulation provided. Whilst a tog value is directly related to mass per unit area and thickness, the relationship is not linear. It does not therefore follow that an increase in weight or thickness will result in a proportional increase in thermal resistance.
For more information on Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services UK and its test for children’s sleep bags, please visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk/cps or email us at Bvsales@uk.bureauveritas.com.
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