With a heavy heart, I am here to share information that most parents most likely do not want to hear. The parents who went out of their way to source a car seat 100% free of harmful fire retardant chemicals may have been duped by some car seat manufacturers.
About Fire Retardants in Car Seats
First, a quick lesson on how fire/flame retardants (FRs) work. The US government has placed regulations on car seats and mattresses that they must pass certain flammability standards on how quickly an item would burn if it were to catch on fire. For example, the max standard for car seats is 102 mm/min or to stop burning within 60 sec. Now there are two different ways to achieve these results. First is to use chemical fire retardants in or on the inside foam of the car seat and/or the fabric. Second is to use naturally fire retardant materials (such as wool) or to weave the fabric in such a way that prevents fires from catching as easily.
Both options achieve the same exact results but the naturally fire retardant materials are more expensive, so many companies opt into using the chemicals in order to meet the standards in a more cost effective way. That wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that fire retardant chemicals are toxic to babies and children! They can cause cancer, ADHD, hormone disruption, infertility and other endocrine issues. Articles listed below for reference.
Where It All Started
This mission started when many of our followers and customers reached out to ask us if some other brands (which we don’t carry on our site) are truly safe and fire-retardant free. I didn’t want to give them the wrong answer so I looked at the verbiage on these websites very carefully. I noticed these secondary brands all had something in common. They all said something along the lines of “no fire retardant chemicals are added to this car seat line” but none of these brands actually said the entire car seat was 100% FR-Free. So I reached out to these companies to press the issue. And I pressed and I pressed. Here’s what I found.
The Car Seat Manufacturer Runaround
- Some companies outlined that although they do not add any fire retardant chemicals to their car seats during the manufacturing process in their facilities, they can’t guarantee that some of the parts used don’t already have FRs in the materials.
- One company sent me a study about how car seats can unintentionally end up testing for FRs on/in the seat after it sits in a car for some time, as it may have been exposed to something in the car which had FRs. When I asked if in that case, they could guarantee its car seats were at least 100% free out of the box and their response was “I’ve shared what I can based on your questions and do hope that’s enough”.
- Another company got closer and said “we have been advised that the foam in the car seats do not contain flame retardants” I asked if they could guarantee that and that the entire car seat was 100% FR-Free and they stopped responding.
- One other company told me over the phone that they couldn't guarantee any materials that came from an outside supplier (mind you, they all use outside suppliers, even the manufacturers that will provide a guarantee) and also that the ingredients in the foam were proprietary so she couldn’t share them.
- Other companies did in fact respond to my multiple questions and better explained.
Finally, I made some headway and one company explained that their car seats were made in a factory that uses FRs for other car seats, which meant that there could be some cross contamination. This was huge news and meant we were finally getting somewhere with the truth!
Our Informed Consent Promise
I believe in informed consent. Parents deserve to know what's in the products their children are using. At Modern Nursery, we promise never to carry products with added fire retardants. We do the research for you and clearly label every product we carry, even if there's only a potential for cross-contamination. We'll never be sneaky. We'll never compromise.
Below you'll find the list of car seat brands and lines that meet our safety standards, and the ones that don't.
To Sum It Up
In conclusion, we have separated these companies into a few different categories below.
The first category is for all the car seats that are guaranteed to be 100% FR-Free inside and out. These offer highest the standards on the market, without any compromises.
Some brands make it clear that they don't add any FRs to their car seats and start with all completely FR-Free materials. These same brands have disclosed that the materials could potentially test for FRs due to cross contamination in a factory where FRs for other products are applied close to the manufacturing of “FR-Free” car seats. We have created a separate category called “No Added FRs | Potential Trace Carryover”. These are a great compromise if budget is a factor and offer a cost effective solution with minimal compromise.
Some brands that sell special “FR-Free” lines (but still use FRs in their other main lines) would not respond to my multiple inquiries and would not provide any sort of guarantee and also wouldn’t address whether or not some of the materials could already contain FR chemicals before they are brought into their factories. These companies I’m the most skeptical of and would personally avoid, as we have no idea what their car seats actually contain and where. These are the “Confirmed Added FRs or Unknown” category.
✨ 100% FR-Free:
- Nuna
- Babyark
- UPPAbaby (only the select models on our site*)
- Clek (only the select models on our site*)
- Peg Perego (only the select models on our site*)
🟡 No Added FRs | Potential Trace Carryover:
*The brands listed above carry multiple lines and models of car seats. If you don't see the exact car seat you're looking for on our website, that means that it falls outside of these categories and potentially contains added FRs.
🚫 Confirmed Added FRs or Unknown (Not recommended):
- Cybex (all current lines)
- Evenflo (all lines, including Green and Gentle which claims to have FR-Free fabrics but has disclosed FRs are still added to other parts of the car seats)
- Chicco (ClearTex line)
- Doona
- Graco
- Joie
- Cosco
- Axkid
- BeSafe
- Diono
*If you don't see a particular brand here that you've researched, it's because that brand has not met our quality or rigorous safety standards.
At Modern Nursery, our promise to you is to never sell a product with added FRs. We will do the research for every brand and line to make sure that it meets our rigorous standards and we remain committed to be 100% transparent with you as to what is in or on a car seat that will be used for your baby.
We are also here to assist in identifying which car seat is perfect for your family! Don't hesitate to reach out to us at 877.663.2224 or service@modernnursery.com for guidance on choosing the right car seat for your growing family!
Further Reading
- CT.gov "Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection's Flame Retardant Fact Sheet"
- CNN.com "Flame retardants found in thousands of consumer products linked to cancer in people for first time"
- GreenSciencePolicy.org "Flame Retardants - Do they save lives or cause harm?"
- NYtimes.com "The Harmful Chemical Lurking in Your Children’s Toys"
