Question from heavensabvus1
I know that the search for non-toxic upholstered furniture has gone around several times. I’m one of the posters who bought a used couch with the intention of covering in in 6ml foodgrade polyethelene underneath a slipcover. After ordering my slipcover, I realized that the company I ordered from also made custom furniture, and the prices sounded reasonable, although I do not yet have a firm quote. The problem I saw with all of the companies making non-toxic couches was twofold: a) prices were very high and b) no one seemed to make traditional sleeper sofas (i.e., non-futon).
I had a good discussion with the company this morning and they are going to get back to me with regards to what materials they can and can’t provide. All their furniture meets the CA 117 standards, but it doesn’t have to as it is made to order. They don’t apply any chemicals at their factory, but of course, the chemicals would be in the materials they make.
For cushions: They use coil springed cushions wrapped in polyurethane. They feel they can get the polyurethane without fire retardants added. They may or may not be able to get natural latex. In any case, coils=less polyurethane. Polyurethane without flame retardants=fewer chemicals. So not perfect, but better. And if they can do latex, even better.
For padding on the frame: the standard is dacron. They feel they may be able to buy this without flame retardants added. Not perfect, but no flame retardants is a great step.
Slipcovers: they can offer organic fabric.
Muslin: One thought was instead of regular muslin, using a muslin with a polyurethane backing to keep in anything in the dacron. That may have it’s own issues, though, so probably not a good idea.
Debra’s Answer
Where you draw the line is where you feel comfortable, what you can afford, and what your physical needs are.
Personally, what you are suggesting wouldn’t be enough for me. My sofa has no foam (spring cushions covered with organic cotton batting, all the stuffing is organic cotton batting, and the cover is 100% linen. I bought an old sofa I liked for $50 at a storage auction and had it re-upholstered.
Polyurethane foam outgasses toxic chemicals even without the fire retardants.
But you are correct that eliminating the fire retardants and scotchguard does eliminate the most toxic chemicals and is better than most standard sofas.
My rule of thumb is to eliminate all the toxic chemicals you can.
Hello Debra,
I’m trying to replace all of our existing furniture with non toxic, flame retardant-free options. Do you know if 100% down filled sofa cushions would like be free of fire retardants? Also, are soy or plant based foam cushions toxic? Lastly, where would one take an old sofa for re-upholstery with say, organic cotton filling? Is that prohibitively expensive?
Many thanks in advance, Nancy
All good questions.
You should ask about each individual sample regarding fire retardants. Because it’s not a material per se to look for. The piece of furniture as a whole needs to pass the flammability laws, and furnituremakers do that in different ways.
That said, polyurethane foam is very flammable and down much less. So whatever they do to meet the standard would be less.
Soy and plant-based foams are generally only a small percentage of plant material, and the rest is toxic polyurethane foam.
You can take an old sofa to any upholsterer to be refilled with a new material. I did this years ago (had a new cover put on too). It was more expensive than buying a toxic sofa, but not prohibitive. It wasn’t like $10,000. I think it was $1500 at the time, which was about 20 years ago now. Holding up very well, no wear and tear at all. I have cotton fill with a linen cover.
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned wicker or finished wood frame furniture for which cushions could be made to suit individual needs? Then the cushions could be replaced or updated as needed, and no expensive upholstery services are needed. Even metal patio type furniture would serve this purpose.
Good question, PH. We looked for several years for affordable non-toxic sofas for our customers and finally sourced one with a simple wood frame + kapok cushions surrounded by wool for flame retardancy, covered in organic cotton. It’s not as fancy as a fully upholstered sofa, but as others have pointed out, organic upholstered furniture is outrageously expensive. Our “eco-sofa” starts at $1,673: https://www.organicandhealthy.com/organic-sofas.html and is made with components that can be rearranged, added to, and eventually replaced if needed.