ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill.–Spring Air has resigned its membership in the International Sleep Products Association.
In a strongly worded letter to the ISPA, Robert Hellyer, Spring Air’s chief executive officer, said that “our senior leadership team has not been happy with several policy decisions you have made, and after careful consideration, we do not believe ISPA leadership is effectively representing the needs of its members or properly managing its budget.”
Hellyer went on to cite ISPA’s lobbying efforts on behalf of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission’s new flame-retardency standards for mattresses, which went into effect last July 1 and “which continues to wreak havoc on our industry.”
Further, Hellyer said, “Instead..., ISPA is busy flying retailers on junkets to Florida and contemplating a $100 million consumer advertising campaign.” He was referring to ISPA’s Management Industry Leadership Summit in February in Naples, Fla., at which executives with manufacturers and retailers gathered to discuss initiatives to increase mattress sales.
In a reply letter to Hellyer, Richard Doyle, ISPA’s CEO said, “Through our research and advocacy efforts, we were able to get the CPSC to adopt (a flame retardation) rule that was fair, manageable and protective of consumers.” Regarding Hellyer’s “junket” statement, Doyle said, “You should be aware that the retailers paid for their own transportation and lodging to attend the Mattress Industry Leadership Summit,” and that “all (of the attendees) agreed our efforts will go far to expand the market for new mattress sales.”