Is All Furniture Coated in Chemicals?

#EcoAdvice from our expert

Dear Dr. Donley,

I’m in the process of buying a new couch, and was told that furniture has to be sprayed with flame-retardant chemicals in order to meet flammability standards. Can I buy a new piece of furniture that isn’t coated in chemicals?

Signed,

Couch Potato from Laredo

Dear CPL,

Ah, yes, the nefarious past of flammability standards. In the 1970s, tobacco companies began advocating for the use of flame-retardant chemicals in fabrics, instead of taking the heat for fires started by lit cigarettes. This resulted in the state of California adopting a flammability standard that could only be met if materials could withstand an open flame for 12 straight seconds. This ridiculously high standard essentially mandated the use of chemical flame retardants in furniture, and since California’s such a huge market, most manufacturers adopted these standards nationally.

Let’s forget for a moment that the leading cause of furniture fires — a smoldering cigarette — doesn’t even contain an open flame, and that candles mostly fell out of favor when horse-drawn carriages did. There are much safer ways to prevent fires. Flame-retardant exposure is associated with nasty health effects, including reproductive and developmental problems, hormone disruption and cancer.

When 100 percent of bats and river otters, 94 percent of bald eagles, and 97 percent of humans have measurable quantities of flame retardants in their blood, it’s a clear indication that things are way out of hand. In fact, if your blood didn’t contain flame retardants, it would probably be boiling right now.

But rest assured, there’s good news on the horizon. In the past couple of years, California eased its standards such that furniture can meet state regulations without the use of chemical flame retardants, and all upholstered furniture sold in the state must now contain a label (usually under the cushion) stating whether it contains flame retardants.

What a relief! But this catastrophe’s far from over. While these changes in California are slowly bringing about change on a national scale, residents in other states can be left feeling confused about whether a product is safe or not. The Center for Environmental Health and Environmental Working Group have good resources available for the environmentally conscious consumer.

Stay wild,

Dr. Donley