Non-Toxic Furniture Store for Sofa

December 17, 2019, by Lisa Powers

Question from Janine

I have been a long time "client/customer" of Debra's. She has guided me through many projects and purchases.
I am trying to find information on stores that carry California compliant Sofas. Such as, Crate and Barrel. I do not want a custom sofa. I saw on your site a list of stores that were compliant and for some reason I cannot find that page again no matter how many times i try.
Please advise.
Again, my question is, where can I purchase a sofa that is safe and non-toxic and is polyester/acrylic safe? I am not chemical sensitive, I just want a clean, non-toxic home environment for my family.

Lisa’s Answer

Here is a link to the upholstered furniture stores on Debra's List. Most of them are custom.

I am not aware of Debra ever doing a list of stores that just meet California's guidelines because it does not ensure that a sofa is non-toxic.

Are you referring to the 2014 revision to California standards that allows manufacturers to stop using flame retardants? If so, EWG has a list of companies that do not use flame retardants in their sofas. Here is that list. A sofa without fame retardants is certainly safer that one with flame retardants but please understand that this does not mean that there are not other harmful chemicals used in these sofas. Most, if not all of them use polyurethane foam which, even when it does not contain flame retardants, can contain formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and other harmful chemicals. The fabric could be treated with perfluorinated chemicals for stain proofing. The wood components of the frame could contain formaldehyde, though if there is a California (CARB Phase 2) certification the levels will minimized. CARB only addresses the the wood components and it does not restrict VOCs from stains or paint on the wood.

I wish there was an easy, affordable place to buy a truly non-toxic sofa but I am not aware of one.