Furniture Price-Cutting

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 643, 20 April 1929, Page 6

Furniture Price-Cutting

ELIMINATING SHODDY WORK

Association Wants Inquiry

STATING that the article in question was probably the product of some factory conducted by the owner himself, a deputation from the Auckland Furniture Trades Association waited on The Sun this morning to explain the position with regard to the perils of pricecutting in the furniture trade as revealed in The Sun on April 6.

THE article referred to a shocking example of the dishonesty of a manufacturer who stuffed a Chesterfield couch with seven pairs of old trousers, three old coats, four waistcoats, one overcoat, the remains of a dress shirt, four other old shirts, one singlet, one cushion, one pillow, four curtains, as well as paper, newspapers, rags, etc., all In the filthiest condition. It appeared as though the garments had been Recovered from city dustbins. The required number of springs were also missing from the couch and the easy chairs. In the Chesterfield there were only 25 springs when at least there should have been 81, and each chair had only one spring Instead of nine. Coarse pieces of wood had been used instead of springs. The deputation consisted of Mr. F. Furnell, president of the Auckland Furniture Trades’ Association, Mr. W. H. Cooke, secretary of the Auckland Furniture Trades’ Association, and Mr. A. E. Thompson, a member of the executive, and representing one of the largest of Auckland’s retail furnishers. health department inquiry Mr. Cooke stated that the deputation wished to assure the public that no member of the Auckland Furniture,

Trades’ Association had anything whatever to do with the manufacture of the suite in question, and, furthermore, that no legitimate manufacturer would ever think of using for stuffing the class of material used iu this case. The law required a certain standard of material to be used, and in that instance a breach of the law seemed to have been committed, and the Department of Health had been asked by the Association to investigate the matter with a view to taking action against the offender. It was stated that the members of the association had been aware for some time that inferior upholstery was being mad©. They had investigated the position as revealed by The Sun and had found it to be true. Mr. Furnell said that any responsible member of the community was quite at liberty to come and investigate conditions under which. upholstering furniture was manufactured. Several suites of the type in question had from time to time been brought to upholsterers to be reupholstered. It was found to be impossible to recover them, in which cases it was far better for the public to buy new suites from some reliable retail shop.