US Vinyl Plastic Film Flammability — 16 CFR Part 1611
- Citation
- 16 CFR Part 1611
- Jurisdiction
- US
- Made by
- Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Instrument
- Regulation
- Status
- In force
What it requires (4 obligations)
The material covered is nonrigid, unsupported vinyl plastic film — transparent, translucent or opaque, whether plain, embossed, moulded or otherwise surface treated.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Coated fabrics, apparel, textiles
- Markets
- US
"Nonrigid, unsupported" is doing the work: a film laminated to a carrier fabric is supported, and § 1611.34 decides which standard then applies. Surface treatment does not take material out of scope — embossed and moulded are named expressly.
Quoted from 16 CFR §§ 1611.1 and 1611.2, eCFR snapshot 2026-08-01.
The rate of burning must not exceed 1.2 inches per second, judged by the average of five determinations lengthwise and five transverse to the direction of processing, when tested with the SPI flammability tester by the method in § 1611.4.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Coated fabrics, apparel, textiles
- Markets
- US
A burn RATE, where every other Flammable Fabrics Act standard in this register measures a burn TIME in seconds (16 CFR 1610) or a char LENGTH (1615, 1616, 1630, 1631). The figures are not comparable across standards and should not be read across.
Quoted from § 1611.3, "Flammability — general requirement", located by heading because the section number also appears in a footnote block that repeats §§ 1611.1-1611.2.
The two averages are assessed separately: compute the average burn rate from five specimens burned transverse to the direction of processing and, separately, from five burned lengthwise. If EITHER average exceeds 1.2 inches per second, the test result is a failure. No article of wearing apparel or fabric subject to the Act may be marketed or handled if, tested under section 4(a), it is so highly flammable as to be dangerous when worn.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Coated fabrics, apparel, textiles
- Markets
- US
Averaging all ten specimens together would pass material that fails — a directional weakness is exactly what the split is designed to catch, and film has a direction of processing by definition. The marketing prohibition uses the same "marketed or handled" wording as § 1610.32, so it reaches goods moving through a chain before any consumer sale.
Quoted from § 1611.32(a) and § 1611.32(b)(1).
Only the uncovered or exposed part of an article of wearing apparel is tested. Where the outer layer of plastic film or plastic-coated fabric of a multilayer fabric separates readily from the other layers, the outer layer is tested under Part 1611. Where the outer layer adheres to all or a portion of one or more underlying layers, the multilayered fabric may be tested under either Part 1611 or Part 1610, the Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles.
No date set Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
- Who it falls on
- Manufacturers, importers and sellers
- Products
- Coated fabrics, apparel, textiles
- Markets
- US
This is the provision that connects the record to 16 CFR Part 1610, already held here. For a coated or laminated fabric the applicable standard is decided by whether the coating SEPARATES READILY — a construction question answered at the laminator, not a paperwork one. A supplier of coated fabric reading either Part alone cannot tell which applies to their goods. Note also that Part 1615 supersedes BOTH 1610 and 1611 for children's sleepwear in sizes 0-6X.
Quoted from § 1611.34 and its note.
This is a register, not advice. It records what an instrument says and when it applies. Whether it applies to a particular company, product or shipment is a question for somebody who knows that business, and the answer is frequently not what the summary above would suggest.
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