Chemical
You Can Find Hundreds (!) of Couches Without Toxic Flame Retardants

You Can Find Hundreds (!) of Couches Without Toxic Flame Retardants

August 31, 2023

By Delaney King, EWG Social Media Intern

Many companies across the nation have complied with California’s 2023 flammability standard that allows furniture manufacturers not to use flame retardant chemicals in polyurethane foam.

That means that consumers can now choose from hundreds of flame retardant-free sofas.

A new survey by the Center for Environmental Health, conducted in collaboration with the American Home Furnishings Alliance and the Sustainable Furnishing Council, determined that 43 companies representing 65 brands are now making fire retardant-free furniture.

If you’re buying a sofa, look at the label, often located under cushions or on the bottom of the piece, to make sure it was made without flame retardants. California law doesn’t ban the chemicals but it requires that their presence be disclosed on the labels of any furniture made in or after 2023.

If you don’t see a label, you need to ask the manufacturer whether flame retardant chemicals are in the upholstered product.

Here are seven companies that produce flame retardant-free furniture:

1. Ashley Furniture

Example: Brace Sofa in Granite, $799.99 (price varies by location)

brace-sofa

One of the nation’s largest furniture retailers, Ashley Furniture announced that it would stop adding fire retardant chemicals to products made in 2023 or after. All products are labeled according to California’s flame retardant law.

2. City Furniture

Example: Grant Sofa in light green microfiber, $599.95

In Florida, City Furniture provides information about fire retardant chemicals under the features section on each product’s webpage.

 

3. Endicott Home

Example: Oscar Longer Condo Sofa, $1,884.00

The company’s website says that it stopped using chemical flame retardants in its furniture.

4. Ethan Allen

Example: Conway Sofa, $2,299.00

Ethan Allen is one of a growing number of furniture companies whose websites state that their products are made without added flame retardant chemicals.

 

5. IKEA

Example: Stockholm Sofa in Röstånga beige, $899.00

A public relations representative in IKEA’s U.S. corporate office said that the company complies with the California law and has been manufacturing products under the new requirements since January 2023. More information on its chemical policies can be found on page 35 of the IKEA Group FY15 Sustainability Report.

 

6. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

Example: Alex Sofa, $2,860

In its online Eco Statement, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams commit to “[cushions] free of fire-retardant chemicals,” plus other environmentally friendly measures. Its couches are available at its signature stores and some third-party vendors.

 

7. Roger + Chris

Example: Basel Sofa, $1,499

The furniture is available exclusively through the company’s online store. Its website claims that its products were manufactured without toxic byproducts, including flame retardants, PBDEs, plasticizers, phthalates, persistant organic pollutants and polyvinyl chloride.

 

If you purchased your sofa before 2023, there’s a good chance the manufacturer treated the cushion foam with toxic flame retardant chemicals linked to cancer and hormone disruption.

As evidence of the dangers of flame retardants mount, we hope that even more flame retardant-free couches will be available soon.

For more information on where you can find fire retardant-free furniture, check out these links:

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