Flame Retardant Free Sofa Guide
UPDATED 3/2021
After our conversation with Duke University's Superfund research director last week, we received a couple of emails asking for details on where to buy furniture without flame retardants...
If you are currently in the market for a new sofa, the good news is that today it is much easier to find a flame retardant free sofa than it has been in recent history!
The reason? In the last 2 years 2 new laws have come into effect in California that no longer require chemical flame retardants in furniture with polyurethane foam (ie: almost all upholstered furniture like sofas, upholstered chairs, children’s seating futons, carpet padding etc contain polyurthane foam). Up until recently, California law required furniture manufacturers to douse these toxic chemicals on all foam containing furniture. Because California is such a large market, most companies selling in the US made all their furniture compliant with California’s old law (TB117). Now that the chemicals are no longer required in California, companies can finally legally sell furniture without hazardous flame retardants. Hurray!
To read more on why flame retardants are bad for you please read our post :Duke's Boss Lady of Flame Retardants: What To Do About Flame Retardants in Car Seats and Beyond
According to a new study published in 2021 when people replace their old couch with a new one that has no added flame retardants, or, alternately, replace the foam inside the couch cushions with one without FR chemicals, flame retardant chemical levels decrease significantly in their homes.
Luckily, buying flame retardant free sofas and upholstered furniture has gotten easier and easier. But, since the 2014 California law did not ban flame retardants, there are still A LOT of sofas/upholstered furniture out there with flame retardants - the California law does not ban flame retardant chemicals it just states that other means can be used to reach their fire safety requirements... so read our guide carefully! Here is what you need to know;
Types of Furniture
To be clear, we are talking about upholstered furniture. All furniture that has polyurethane foam inside and is covered by fabric. This type of foam is the most common cushioning material used in all furniture. This includes, among others, sofas, loveseats, children’s soft seating, office seating, armchairs etc.
Some mattresses, comforters, mattress pads, bed pillows and decorative pillows contain polyurethane foam, however laws governing mattresses and these items are different and so we will not be discussing them here today.
Labeling
Before buying new upholstered furniture you want to look at the tags. There are 3 tags you might find:
- AVOID:
“ TB 117” label: This will, by definition, contain flame retardant chemicals. Avoid.
- BE CAUTIOUS
TB 117-2013 label: Items labelled with this tag might contain flame retardant chemicals, but they might not. If you see this label call the manufacturer and ask if that specific item is flame retardant free. Most store employees you will find are not knowledgeable on this subject so I recommend calling customer service.
- BUY WITH CONFIDENCE
SP 1019 tag
The best label to find are compliments of California Senate Bill 1019, the most recent flame retardant California law passed. This tag specifically tells you if the item contains flame retardant chemicals or not. It requires upholstered or foam-filled furniture offered for sale to carry a label with two boxes, one of which must be accurately checked stating:
This product meets California’s furniture fire safety standard and:
_____ contains added flame retardant chemicals
_____ contains NO added flame retardant chemicals
Companies Selling Flame Retardant Free Furniture
There is a growing group of major retailers that offer some or all furniture without flame retardant chemicals. In most cases you will have to make sure the manufacturing date is after January 1, 2015. Many pre 2015 furniture pieces might still be for sale and contain flame retardants, so it is important to confirm your piece’s manufacturing date.
According to their own websites or company statements, the following companies sell furniture without flame retardants;
Room & Board: According to the Center for Environmental Health, "all special orders can be made flame-retardant-free except for one line. Products on floor are likely to still contain flame retardant chemicals. Company expects to have all products free of flame retardant chemicals before end of year (2015)."
Ikea: Proving that flame retardant free furniture doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg! All couches sold by Ikea and manufactured after January 1, 2015, are reportedly made without chemical flame retardants.
Crate & Barrel: As of January 1, 2015, all newly manufactured Crate & Barrel couches contain no chemical flame retardants
West Elm and Pottery Barn : All couches made after January 1, 2015, do not contain added chemical flame retardants.
Design Within Reach: Design Within Reach sells select sofa collections made without flame retardants. According to its customer service, these include the Bantam, Camber, Flight, Goodland, Parallel, Portola, Raleigh, Reid and Soto Collections.
Ashley Furniture: The nation’s largest furniture manufacturer is selling upholstered furniture without flame retardants as of January 1, 2015
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams : all of their cushions are free of fire retardant chemicals
Ethan Allen : All of their upholstery products are free of flame retardant chemicals.
Ekla Home: They use wool to be able to offer flame retardant free furniture
Macys recently also pledged to eliminate flame retardants in the near future
Cisco Brothers
Ecobalanza
Please note: in an ideal world you would have your sofa custom made using real hardwood (or metal), no fire retardants nor PFAS chemicals used in performance (stain and water resistant) fabric and/or organic textiles (we were able to do this locally), and solid wood ( furniture which uses “engineered hardwood” or fiberboard, gives off formaldehyde ). However, this is not always available or possible. To that end, the company’s mentioned at least produce sofa’s without flame retardants- a huge positive step in decreasing your family’s exposure to toxic chemicals.
What if I just want to switch out my foam?
You can switch out the foam in your couch by contacting a local foam supplier and asking for new foam that does not contain added flame retardants.... PU foam still will give off VOC chemicals so while this is the least expensive solution it is still not ideal.
Better alternatives are to look for fills including: cotton, down, and wool or GOLS certified natural latex. @ecobalanza located in Seattle offers this service!