They're linked to cancer. We refuse to sell them, ever.
Flame retardants are chemicals added to foam and fabric so products pass flammability tests. They don't stay locked in the material. They shed into cars and household dust and end up in the people living there, which is why researchers find them in human blood. A federal cancer review of the class is underway, and the evidence ties them to cancer, hormone disruption, and harm to developing brains. That's why we won't stock a single product treated with them.
Browse our flame retardant-free baby gear
What are flame retardants, and why are they in so many products?
They're chemicals added to make products resist catching fire. Safety standards limit how fast furniture, foam, and baby gear can burn, and manufacturers can meet those limits two ways: build with materials that resist fire naturally, which costs more, or coat cheap foam and fabric with a chemical retardant. Most of the industry picks the coating. That single cost decision is why these chemicals ended up in millions of homes. We covered how it happened in What Are Fire Retardants.
Are flame retardants toxic?
Several are linked to cancer and hormone disruption. The National Toxicology Program has an active cancer hazard evaluation of halogenated flame retardants underway, and a handful are already listed federally as reasonably anticipated human carcinogens. A 2024 study in JAMA Network Open found adults with the highest blood levels of PBDEs, one common family, had roughly four times the cancer mortality risk of those with the lowest. Even though states allow these toxic chemicals to be legal, this doesn’t mean they’re actually safe to be exposed to!
Watch out when you ask companies if their product contains flame retardants and they tell you that their products meet or exceed all flammability standards and regulations. Yes, that’s great. Any product sold in the US in certain categories HAS to meet or exceed the government standards. Just because the item meets the standard doesn’t mean that means by which is done are safe and that the item is safe to use. We believe flame retardant chemicals are ALL toxic; not just some, but all. So if they give you a list of the flame retardants that their products don’t contain, but don’t guarantee that they are FR free: run, don’t walk.
Which products contain flame retardants?
Foam-filled goods mostly: mattresses, furniture, car seats, and clothing. Anything built around polyurethane foam or treated fabric is a candidate, which covers a startling share of baby gear. Car seats, mattresses, rugs, blankets, and sleepwear deserve the closest look, because they're the soft goods a baby is in contact with for ten or twelve hours a day, shedding dust straight into the air they breathe.
Read more: How to Choose an Organic Crib Mattress
Why are babies exposed to more flame retardants than adults?
They mouth their hands, swallowing settled dust adults avoid. These chemicals migrate out of foam and collect on car seat surfaces, the tops of mattresses and in floor dust, exactly where babies spend most of their time. Little ones put unwashed hands in their mouths constantly, so they take in more of this dust than the grown-ups in the same room. In car seats, where babies are often strapped in for long stretches, migrated chemicals seep into the car seat fabrics that are right up against baby’s skin. The EPA flags infants and young children as the most exposed group for precisely this reason, and links these chemicals to effects on hormones and brain development.
Are babies more sensitive to flame retardants than adults?
Yes, their developing brains and organs are far more vulnerable. The CDC explains that a child's organ systems are still rapidly developing, and during these "critical windows" even a small exposure can do lasting harm a grown body would shrug off. For flame retardants specifically, a 2020 review in Current Epidemiology Reports tied prenatal exposure to poorer attention, cognition, and behavior as children grew. It's the same chemistry, but far higher stakes for a body that's still being built. Exposure is only half the story. This is the other half.
Why can a GREENGUARD Gold product still contain flame retardants?
Because that badge measures emissions, not which chemicals are inside. GREENGUARD Gold tests how much a product off-gasses into the air, a genuinely useful signal for VOCs. But an item can pass it and still contain flame retardants, because the certification never checks the ingredient list. So we treat it as one credential among several, never as proof that an item is toxin-free. Everything we carry clears our flame-retardant bar anyway, so that badge is a bonus, not the reason we stock it.
How do I avoid flame retardants at home?
Buy from companies like us who screen them out entirely. Decoding each brand's chemistry yourself is close to impossible, since disclosure isn't required and marketing language is slippery. We did that work instead: every product we carry is free from added flame retardants, from car seats to crib mattresses, and we label any trace carryover from shared factory lines so you can decide with full information. If you want to know which brands treat their products and which don't, we named names in our article on Added Fire Retardants in Car Seats.
References
- National Toxicology Program (NIEHS). Cancer Hazard Evaluation of Halogenated Flame Retardants. The class of halogenated flame retardants is under active federal cancer hazard evaluation for potential listing in the Report on Carcinogens.
- JAMA Network Open (2024). Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. Adults in the highest tertile of serum PBDEs had about four times the cancer mortality risk of those in the lowest.
- U.S. EPA. Reducing Your Child's Exposure to Flame Retardant Chemicals. Flame retardants collect in house dust, and infants and young children are the most exposed group through hand-to-mouth contact.
- U.S. CDC / ATSDR. Principles of Pediatric Environmental Health: Why Are Children Often Especially Susceptible to the Adverse Effects of Environmental Toxicants? Children's organ systems are still developing, creating critical windows when even small exposures can cause lasting harm.
- Current Epidemiology Reports (2020). Flame Retardants and Neurodevelopment: An Updated Review of the Epidemiological Literature. Prenatal flame-retardant exposure is associated with poorer attention, cognition, and behavior in children.
