According to new research from Leggett & Platt, many low-cost imported mattresses sold online fail federal flammability standards. It also says some even attain dangerous heat release rates in violation of U.S. law in as little as two to four minutes after exposure to an ignition source, according to test results submitted to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in July 2024.
The mattress manufacturer worked with Element Materials Technology, an independent CPSC-approved laboratory for mattress flammability testing and conducted the tests at its St. Paul, Minnesota, facility.
The lab tested eight imported mattress models (24 mattresses in total). These models had an average retail listing price of $233 — about half the wholesale price of an average mattress sold by U.S. manufacturers. The tested mattress models had high Amazon search rankings and were almost all sold on Amazon by third-party sellers. Each model underwent the same full-scale prototype testing used to establish a new mattress’s design compliance with the CPSC’s open-flame standard, known as the “1633” test.
The CPSC adopted this safety standard to reduce deaths and injuries related to mattress fires, particularly those initially ignited by sources such as lighters, candles and matches. The standard requires mattresses to maintain a heat release rate under 200 kW after being ignited by a pair of T-shaped gas burners.
Noncompliant mattresses burn rapidly and can quickly reach dangerous “flashover” conditions. Flashover is the point at which the entire contents of a room ignite simultaneously by radiant heat, making conditions in the room untenable and safe exit from the room impossible. Each year, compliance with the 1633 standard prevents scores of deaths and serious injuries from bedroom fires. To be compliant, a particular mattress design must pass the 1633 test three times. A single failure is considered to be a failure of the design to meet the 1633 standard.
Leggett & Platt says the results of the flammability testing are alarming. Seven of the eight tested mattress models (87.5%) failed the 1633 flammability test. One mattress model per brand was subjected to 1633 flammability testing. Five brands each had at least one model that failed all three 1633 tests conducted. Two of the brands had a model that failed two of three 1633 tests.
The test results submitted to the CPSC raise serious concerns that there may be widespread noncompliance of low-cost imported mattresses sold online in the U.S, according to Leggett & Platt.
An estimated 400,000 mattresses from models that failed 1633 flammability testing were sold on Amazon between 2024 and mid-2025, according to third-party market intelligence data. Many mattress brands identified as having noncompliant models continue to sell those models — as well as other models—on Amazon and other online retailers in the U.S.
According to trademark registrations, it appears to be common for a single foreign company to own several mattress brands that are imported and sold online in the United States. If a mattress model sold by a company under one of these brands fails flammability compliance, would other models sold under that brand, as well as other linked brands sold by that company, fail as well?
Over the past decade, imported mattresses have risen from approximately 10% to over 40% of the U.S. market. The vast majority of mattresses sold on Amazon are imported and sold at lower prices than their American-made counterparts, raising questions as to whether the foreign manufacturers used the materials necessary to make compliant mattresses with appropriate flammability protections.
In a majority of mattress recalls conducted over the past three years, Leggett & Platt says most sellers offer to provide consumers a remedy of a free cover that purportedly will bring the mattress into compliance with the federal flammability standard. However, many consumers are unlikely to call for a free cover, and, if they do, may not place it on the mattress or keep it on during the lifespan of the mattress. This common remedy has likely left thousands of dangerous, highly flammable mattresses in homes throughout the U.S.
“The message sent to companies selling low-cost, noncompliant mattresses is that their worst-case scenario for violating U.S. safety laws and exposing consumers to potentially deadly fires is that they will be required to spend $10 to $20 to send a mattress cover to the few consumers who request one,” the manufacturer says in a press release.
The tests were conducted on behalf of Leggett & Platt Inc., and the company has urged the CPSC to take the following actions:
- Require all online retailers and the mattress manufacturers to conduct an immediate recall of the mattress models that failed flammability testing.
- Expect companies that manufacture the models that failed testing to submit proof of testing to the CPSC, confirming that all other mattresses sold by that company in the United States meet flammability standards.
- Work with online retailers to implement safeguards to ensure the compliance of all mattresses sold on their platforms going forward.
- Impose significant civil penalties on companies that fail to conduct legally required flammability tests or apply false tags indicating compliance, as permitted by law.
The CPSC has issued product safety warnings for the noncompliant mattress models sold under two of the brands tested by Leggett & Platt, citing violations of federal safety regulations. No recalls or warnings have been issued by the CPSC for the remaining noncompliant mattress models to date, Leggett says.
