PRODUCT CERTIFICATIONS: WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

When shopping for your office furniture, you might come across logos and acronyms and wonder what they actually mean. 

Here's a quick guide to some of the common ones in Australia. 

AFRDI: the Australian Furnishing Research & Development Institute (AFRDI) is an independent not-for-profit technical organisation that provides standards, testing, product certifications and research for buyers and sellers of furniture based on Australian and New Zealand and other well-recognised standards.  

The AFRDI Certification guarantees that a product meets the criterias of strength, durability, stability, function (the product is fit for purpose including ergonomic and basic safety criteria), flammability (where appropriate), reasonable finish and workmanship. 

Suppliers of AFRDI certified products enter into an agreement with the institute and agree to maintain the quality of their products, advise the institute of any changes made to the certified product, undergo random checks and submit goods for audit or investigation at least every three years.

GECA: Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) runs Australia's only independent, not-for-profit, multi-sector eco-labelling program and is the only Australian member of the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN).  

The certification ensures that a product meets social and environmental performance standards, was manufactured with little impact on the environment and human health.

Just like for the AFRDI certifications, GECA labelled products are submitted to regular surveillance audits. 

ISO 14001:2015 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organisations minimize how their operations and processes negatively affect the environment. ISO 14001 details how our products are designed and manufactured with a viewpoint on maximising our environmental efficiencies and also gives us a framework for continual improvement.

ISO 9001:2008 is a family of quality management system standards designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or program. ISO 9001 ensures our quality assurance systems are continually improved and adhered to.

With regular audits in place, ISO 14001 & ISO 9001 helps maximise our efficiency whilst also reducing our footprint on the environment. 

If you are looking for certified products for your next fit-out, don't hesitate to ask us. We have a range of products that are AFRDI certified from our Benchwork and Vast workstations to our very popular Miro chairs, Future chairs, Economy chairs, our Logic monitor arms and many more (certifications are listed on each product page). We can also provide you with GECA certified steel storage options.  

If you'd like to find out more, drop us a line here. 

Did You Know…?

At Krost, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We know that office furniture can leave a big footprint and we see it as our responsibility to minimise that footprint as much as possible.

• We use environmentally friendly materials

Many of our products use recycled and recyclable materials such as steel or ABS plastic and are all packaged in recyclable cardboard or plastic. Our workstation panels are all upholstered with water-based glues that are environmentally safe, solvent free and with no emission concerns. Our melamine and veneer are manufactured with low formaldehyde emissions, and comply with Australia E1 standards. Wherever possible we use E0 board that emits only half the standard recommended E1 level.

• Our furniture is designed to be reusable

We strive to expand the lifespan of our furniture by having highly adaptable systems that can be disassembled and reassembled. If you are relocating, your Krost furniture can be moved and refitted, following the same or a different configuration to suit your new space.

• Our furniture is designed to last

We offer 5 to 10 years warranty on all our workstations and desks because we believe that furniture should be made to last. Many of our products are externally tested by 3rd party organisation such as AFRDI and BIFMA to test their quality.

• We have appropriate waste management in place

When the job is done and your new furniture beautifully installed, our teams ensure to remove all packaging and recycle as much of the waste as possible.

• We follow best practice principles for our environmental management

Our processes are in full compliance with ISO 14001, the international standard for Environmental Management Systems. With regular audits in place, ISO 14001 helps up identify areas of our operations that put the most strain on the environment and assists us in maximising our environment efficiencies. This means that we are constantly looking for ways to improve. Furthermore, some of our products hold additional qualification such as GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certification to assure customers of sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.