Publication Date: 28 November 2025
Where provisions are highlighted in bold text, the User is required to pay special attention to such provisions as they have a serious impact on the User’s rights and SAFI wishes to draw the User’s attention thereto.
SAFI respects the User’s privacy and is committed to protecting it. SAFI has a legal duty to protect any Personal Information or data collected from the User. This Privacy Policy sets out the ways in which the User’s Personal Information is obtained and stored by SAFI, and the conditions on which SAFI may use that data and information.
1. DEEMED ACCEPTANCE
1.1 By accessing and using the Website, the User agrees to be bound by the Privacy Policy set out herein.
1.2 If the User does not wish to be bound by the Privacy Policy, the User may not access, display, use, download, and/or otherwise copy or distribute the Content or the Website.
2. INTERPRETATION
2.1 In this Privacy Policy, unless inconsistent with or otherwise indicated by the context –
2.1.1 “Business Day” means any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday;
2.1.2 “Content” means any and all content displayed on the Website at any given time, and shall include (but shall not be limited to) confidential information, member directory, industry resources and news, tender bulletin, employment portal, the Catalogue, literary works, marketing and business information, musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, cinematograph films, sounds and television broadcasts, program-carrying signals, proprietary works, published editions and computer programs, names, logos, trademarks, images, text, columns, graphics, photographs, illustrations and software;
2.1.3 “Parties” means the User and SAFI, and “Party” means either one of them as the context may indicate;
2.1.4 “Personal Information” means information relating to the User, including but not limited to (i) views or opinions of the User or of another individual about the User and (ii) information relating to the User’s race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, nationality, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, cultural affiliation, language and birth; education, medical, financial, criminal or employment history; names, identity number and/or any other personal identifier, including any number(s), which may uniquely identify a User, account or User number, password, pin code, numeric, alpha, or alpha-numeric design or configuration of any nature, symbol, e-mail address, domain name or IP address, physical address, cellular phone number, telephone number or other particular assignment; blood type, fingerprint or any other biometric information; personal opinions, views, or preferences; correspondence that is implicitly or expressly of a personal, private or confidential nature (or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence); and corporate structure, composition and business operations (in circumstances where the User is a juristic person) irrespective of whether such information is in the public domain or not;
2.1.5 “Processing” means any operation or activity or any set of operations, whether or not by automatic means, concerning Personal Information, including the collection, receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, testing of, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use, dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in any other form by electronic communications or other means, or merging, linking, blocking, degradation, erasure, or destruction, and “Process” has a corresponding meaning;
2.1.6 “Privacy Policy” means the privacy policy set out herein;
2.1.7 “SAFI” means South African Furniture Initiative NPC, registration number 2009/003078/08, a non-profit company duly incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa;
2.1.8 “User(s)” means any person or entity using the Website; and
2.1.9 “Website” means the Website owned and maintained by SAFI, or through which SAFI makes information relating to its services available to Users and publishes the catalogue, including but not limited to the website located at the domain name https://furnituresa.org.za/
3. SECURITY
3.1 SAFI does not warrant that the Website is completely secure, although SAFI shall use all reasonable endeavours to keep any Personal Information safe.
3.2 In order to provide adequate security to all Users of the Website and to monitor activities prohibited under law the User hereby agrees to SAFI’s appointed service providers’ right to intercept, monitor, block, read, delete, or access all data sent to the Website or any other communication facility provided by SAFI.
3.3 SAFI cannot guarantee that documents or files downloaded from the Website (if applicable) will be free from viruses and SAFI does not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss caused by any virus. The User hereby indemnifies SAFI and its service providers and affiliates against any possible damages, expenses or losses as a result of delivering computer programs or any other code that may damage the Website, infrastructure, or the service provider’s infrastructure.
4. PERSONAL INFORMATION
4.1 The User hereby agrees that by submitting Personal Information to SAFI or by using the Website, the User consents to the Processing of Personal Information submitted to SAFI in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
4.2 General
4.3 SAFI shall –
4.3.1 only Process Personal Information in accordance with the applicable laws and in terms of this Privacy Policy;
4.3.2 not disclose or otherwise make available the Personal Information to any third party (including sub-contractors and staff) other than authorised personnel or third parties who require access to such Personal Information strictly in order for SAFI to operate the Website or to provide services to the User, unless the User has provided its prior written permission to do so to SAFI;
4.3.3 ensure that all persons that have access to the Personal Information are bound by appropriate and legally binding confidentiality and non-use obligations in relation to the Personal Information; and
4.3.4 take appropriate, reasonable, technical, and organisational measures to ensure that the integrity of the Personal Information in its possession or under its control is secure and protected against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage, alteration, disclosure, or access.
4.4 Information collected by SAFI
The User agrees that SAFI may collect, store and use the following information –
4.4.1 information about the User’s computer and about the User’s visits to and use of the Website (including but not limited to the User’s internet protocol address, geographical location, browser type, referral source, length of visit and number of page views);
4.4.2 information that the User provides for the purpose of registering on the Website;
4.4.3 purchase history and other information in relation to use of the services and/or purchase of the products via the Website;
4.4.4 information provided for the purpose of the User’s profile;
4.4.5 any other information that the User chooses to input on the Website, including but not limited to information Processed after login on the Website or information submitted through the Website; and
4.4.6 information that other users share about the User.
4.5 Cookies
4.5.1 Cookies may be used by SAFI to understand the Users better. Cookies allow SAFI to understand who has seen which pages and advertisements, in order to determine how frequently particular pages are visited, and to determine the most popular areas of the Website.
4.5.2 The User is entitled to adjust its browser so that cookies are not accepted. Should the User do this, he/she will still be able to browse the Website, but the functions that allow the User to access an existing account or page that requires a username or password, may not be available.
4.5.3 Cookies do not contain Personal Information. SAFI does not exchange cookies with any third party Websites or external data suppliers.
4.6 Use of Personal Information
4.6.1 Personal Information submitted on the Website or by any other communication will be used for the purposes specified herein.
4.6.2 The User hereby consents to the use of his/her Personal Information to allow SAFI to –
4.6.2.1 provide the sales agent and manufacturer with information to process any order placed through the Website;
4.6.2.2 administer the Website;
4.6.2.3 improve User experience by personalising the Website;
4.6.2.4 carry out obligations arising from any contracts entered into between the User and SAFI, insofar as it is applicable;
4.6.2.5 notify the User about changes to the services provided;
4.6.2.6 to provide Users with information in relation to the manufacturer and products;
4.6.2.7 send the User email notifications as requested by the User;
4.6.2.8 provide the User with information, products and services relating to the information, products or services of SAFI, which SAFI thinks may be of interest, by email or similar technology. The User is entitled to inform SAFI at any time if the User does not wish to receive marketing communication;
4.6.2.9 provide third parties with statistical information about the Website users, which information will not include Personal Information;
4.6.2.10 deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about a User relating to the Website or Content; and
4.6.2.11 use the information for such other things as may be required by SAFI, or may be ancillary to, the administration of the Website or the provision of its services.
4.6.3 It is the User’s responsibility to obtain the necessary consent from a third party prior to submitting a third party’s Personal Information to the Website, and the User accordingly warrants that any such consent has been obtained in respect of any Personal Information uploaded by the User, the following being applicable thereto –
4.6.3.1 the User shall provide the aforementioned consents (insofar as it may be applicable) to SAFI within 5 Business Days of receipt of a written demand from SAFI to that effect; and
4.6.3.2 the User hereby indemnifies SAFI and holds it harmless against any claims, damages, or losses as a result of the User’s failure to obtain the aforementioned consents from the third parties.
4.6.4 SAFI stores Personal Information and other data for as long as it is necessary to provide the services to the User and others, including those described above. Personal Information will be destroyed once it has become obsolete, unless SAFI is required to retain it in terms of any applicable laws.
4.7 Disclosures
4.7.1 SAFI may disclose information about the User to any of its employees, officers, agents, suppliers, or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out herein and to enable SAFI to provide its products and services and conduct its business in respect of its members.
4.7.2 In addition, SAFI may disclose information about the User –
4.7.2.1 to the extent required to do so by law;
4.7.2.2 in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings;
4.7.2.3 in order to establish, exercise or defend its legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk); and
4.7.2.4 to the purchaser (or prospective purchaser) of any business or asset, which SAFI contemplates selling, to the extent required.
4.8 Notification of a Personal Information security breach
4.8.1 SAFI shall –
4.8.1.1 notify the User in writing, immediately if it becomes aware or has reasonable grounds to believe that the Personal Information of a User has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, and take all appropriate steps to limit the compromise of Personal Information and to restore the integrity of the affected information systems as quickly as possible;
4.8.1.2 as soon as reasonably possible thereafter, engage with any persons who may be appointed by SAFI to discuss the security breach, to report all relevant facts relating to the compromise and steps to be taken to mitigate the extent of the compromise and loss occasioned by the compromise; and
4.8.1.3 provide the User with details of the Personal Information affected by the compromise, including but not limited to, the nature and extent of the compromise, and, where possible, details of the identity of the unauthorised person/s who are known to or who may reasonably be suspected of, having accessed or acquired the Personal Information.
4.8.2 Immediately upon notifying the User as set forth in clause 4.8.1, SAFI shall –
4.8.2.1 at its own cost, take all necessary steps to mitigate the continuation of the compromise, the repetition of a similar compromise, and mitigate the extent of the loss occasioned by the compromise of the Personal Information;
4.8.2.2 implement all measures reasonably necessary to restore the integrity of its information system; and
4.8.2.3 notify all affected Users.
5. USER’S RIGHTS
5.1 The User has the right to decide which Personal Information is kept about the User. SAFI shall provide the User with (free of charge) confirmation whether or not it holds Personal Information about the User and with further details regarding the Personal Information so held (if applicable). If the User is concerned that any of the information so held is incorrect, please contact SAFI immediately. The User is further entitled to request that any such information be deleted or the use thereof restricted.
5.2 The User is entitled to instruct SAFI not to utilise the User’s Personal Information for direct marketing purposes or in any further manner by emailing SAFI at any time to the following email address: safi.info@furnituresa.org.za.
6. GENERAL
6.1 Communication, dispatch and receipt
6.1.1 Data messages sent from SAFI to the User are deemed to be received when the complete message is outside the control of SAFI’s systems (at the time it has left such system).
6.1.2 Data messages from the User to SAFI’s are only deemed to be received by SAFI when SAFI responds thereto. Such acknowledgement further does not give legal effect to that message, unless specifically indicated by SAFI to the contrary.
6.2 Attribution of data messages to originator
The User hereby agrees and warrants that the data message sent under his/her login credentials (i.e. username and password), was sent by the User or a person that had authority to act on his/her behalf in respect of the data message.
7. COMPLAINTS
Users may use the email address provided herein to lodge applicable complaints or concerns in respect of this Privacy Policy.