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Question from Katie Hines

Hi Debra,

www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2015/03/five-couches-without-flame-retardants-you-can-buy-right-now

Is the flame retardants what make polyurethane toxic or is it something else?

Debra’s Answer

Some organizations are making a big deal out of companies that are removing flame retardants from sofas.

Removing flame retardants is a great step in the right direction, but there are more toxic chemicals in a sofa than flame retardants.

Here’s a list of materials in the Extorp sofa from IKEA that was mentioned on the list from EWG that you sent.

Back and seat frame:
Fiberboard
Moisture resistant particleboard
Plywood
Solid pine
Polyurethane foam 1.2 lb/cu.ft.

Armrest:
Hollow fiber polyester wadding
Solid pine
Fiberboard
Moisture resistant particleboard
Cardboard
Polyurethane foam 1.2 lb/cu.ft.
olyurethane foam 1.5 lb/cu.ft.

Seat cushion:
Non-woven polypropylene
High-resilience polyurethane foam (cold foam) 2.2 lb/cu.ft.
Polyester fiber balls

Fiberboard is a type of engineered wood product that is made out of wood fibers. Types of fiberboard (in order of increasing density) include particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, and hardboard. So we don’t know exactly which fiberboard it is or what type of resin was used. Could be emitting formaldehyde.

Then there is particleboard, which for sure is emitting formaldehyde, and plywood, which probably is emitting formaldehyde as well.

Polyurethane foam also emits many chemicals all by itself, even without the fire retardant.

This is why I always look at ALL the materials in a product to determine if it is toxic or safe, and not just think it’s OK because one toxic element has been removed.

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