Safety is at the heart of everything we make, especially since we’re making products designed for children. On this page, you can find key information about the safety of Fort Haven products.
Fort Haven products are manufactured from a material called PET (polyethylene terephthalate).
PET is a strong, durable and lightweight polyester-based plastic. The raw material used to produce it comes mainly from recycled soda bottles, and partly from virgin (brand new) plastic fibres.
No glues or chemical binders are used in the manufacture of our PET panels. The panels are manufactured through a mechanical and thermal process that involves weaving the fibres together and then pressing them into a dense, porous felt board, using heat.
We have personally visited our manufacturing partner’s facility and observed this process from raw fibres through to the finished, printed and cut panels.
The PET panels used in Fort Haven products have been independently tested by SGS, one of the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification organisations, and achieved a Class B-s1,d0 fire classification under the European EN 13501-1 standard.
In simple terms, this means the tested PET panel demonstrated high resistance to the spread of fire, very limited smoke production and no flaming droplets or particles during testing.
The PET material is engineered with flame-retardant properties within the fibre itself, rather than relying solely on a surface treatment. This provides consistent flame-retardant performance throughout the material.
We believe parents shouldn’t have to take our word for it when it comes to safety. You can download the full independent SGS test report below and see the results for yourself.
We believe that children’s products should be made from materials that parents can feel good about having in their homes.
The PET panels used in Fort Haven products have been independently screened by SGS against hundreds of substances classified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) under the European Union’s REACH chemical safety framework.
The SGS testing screened the material against 235 substances on the REACH Candidate List, along with additional potential SVHCs. The tested substances were reported as not detected within the laboratory’s applicable reporting limits, and the overall screening result passed the applicable ≤0.1% threshold.
In simple terms, this means the PET material was screened for a very broad range of chemicals of particular concern and no tested SVHCs were detected above the applicable reporting limits.
We don’t expect parents to simply take our word for it. The full independent SGS test report is available below for anyone who would like to see the results for themselves.
SGS has also independently tested our PET panels for the release and migration of a range of potentially harmful substances.
Their testing found no detectable vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and no detectable formaldehyde release in the tested panel.
The same testing examined the migration of eight soluble heavy metals and other elements. Arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead and selenium were all below the laboratory’s detection limits. Soluble antimony was detected at 8 mg/kg.
These results give us additional confidence in the chemical composition of the PET material used in Fort Haven products.
We believe in being completely transparent about our testing and making the full independent SGS report available to parents.
All Fort Haven products come with a full one year warranty.