NSF/ANSI 336 Certificate

The purpose of the NSF/ANSI 336 standard is to address the environmental, economic and social aspects of commercial furnishing fabrics used in commercial spaces. The standard considers criteria from a product’s lifecycle to get a complete picture of the inputs, outputs and environmental impacts of textile products across a product’s lifespan. The standard is applicable to a variety of contract fabric types used in public spaces, such as office, hospitality, healthcare and institutional interiors. As a multi-attribute sustainability standard, NSF 336 considers eight sustainability parameters that carry varying weight in the total point make-up; 50 percent comprises the fiber composition, and the remaining 50 percent comprises the fabric manufacturing process.

The standard can also be used as a reference guide to sustainable production and Design for the Environment principles as they relate to commercial textiles. As a first- or second-party assessment, NSF/ANSI 336 can be met in whole or in part to internally benchmark increasingly sustainable practices or to measure the specific sustainable attributes of a product.

First-party (self-declaration) assessment is performed by the person or organization that provides the product.

Second-party assessment is performed by the person or organization that has a user or purchaser interest in the product.

Third-party assessment is performed by a person or body that’s independent of the person or organization that provides the product, and of the use or purchaser interests in that product.

The purpose of the Standard is to address the environmental, economic and social aspects
of commercial furnishings fabric used in public occupancy settings such as office, hospitality,
healthcare and institutional interiors. These textiles include but are not limited to woven,
non-woven, bonded, knitted, felted and composite materials used for upholstered furniture;
walls, draperies, cubicles, furniture systems and other vertical applications; and decorative
top-of-bed applications such as bedspreads. The Standard also incorporates Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) criteria that measure inputs, outputs and environmental impacts of textile
products across their entire lifespan.

Certified fabrics must meet prerequisites for each parameter and can achieve optional credits, earning up to a maximum of 100 points. Based on the total number of points achieved within each category, products are awarded certification levels of compliant, silver, gold or platinum. Products certified to NSF 336 are certified for five years and undergo yearly reviews to determine continued compliance to the standard.

NSF certification assures suppliers, retailers, regulators and consumers that an independent organization has reviewed a product’s manufacturing process and determined that the product complies with specific standards for safety, quality, sustainability or performance. From extensive product testing and material analyses to plant inspections and auditing, we evaluate every aspect of a product’s development