Choosing furniture free of chemicals of concern can be cost-neutral or even save you money.

• Typical office furniture can be made without the use of flame retardant chemicals and still that meet current furniture flammability regulations. These healthier products are often offered at no extra cost, are reported to have a more comfortable “sit”, and contain longer lasting foam.
• “Special occupancy” buildings (such as hospitals) that are fully fire sprinklered, can contain furniture that meets the typical furniture standard (TB 117-2013) rather than the more costly and heavily flame retarded products to meet TB 133 or ASTM E 1537. These healthier products can save organizations anywhere from 20% to 50% on furniture costs according to a confidential business survey conducted by the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA).
• Further, as knowledge about chemicals of concern grows, it becomes increasingly clear that they are often unnecessary and only serve to increase the cost.
  • Government studies have consistently shown that furniture foam treated with flame retardants does not protect us from fires.¹¹
  • There is no data to support claims that antimicrobials added to furniture reduce the spread of infection, including the COVID virus (SARSCoV-2).¹² Even leading health care organizations such as Kaiser Permanente have already moved away from furniture treated with antimicrobials.
  • Research indicates that PFAS finishes on furniture textiles are minimally effective at preventing stains or increasing water repellency and that the most important factor in reducing stain visibility is fabric choice.¹³

Studies have shown that healthier work spaces are associated with significant improvements in work performance. For example, one study showed that people working in environments with lower levels of VOCs significantly improved their cognitive function including decision making ability.¹⁴ A second study of employees who moved from conventional office buildings to LEED rated buildings with indoor environmental quality credits demonstrated reductions in self-reported absenteeism and work hours affected by asthma, respiratory allergies, depression, and stress. The employees also reported improved productivity.¹⁵ Choosing healthier materials to reduce the number of hazardous chemicals in work spaces is a smart decision that can improve the health, well-being, performance and productivity of your workforce.

More and more employees, especially millennials who are currently the largest generation (35%) of the US workforce, want to work for an employer that has a strong environmental sustainability agenda that aligns with their personal values. These employees report that they value an organization’s sustainability efforts so greatly they would accept a lower paying position in order to work for an organization that better aligns with their values.¹⁶ Purchasing furniture without toxic chemicals can show employees that their health matters and that the company is acting on their sustainability values.

Furniture is an unexpected reservoir of toxic chemicals. These chemicals can migrate out of furniture, accumulating in dust, affecting the quality of our indoor air, and finding their way into our bloodstreams. Exposure to these toxic chemicals has been associated with serious health consequences such as decreased fertility, cancer, hormone disruption, reduced IQ, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.¹⁷ In some cases, these chemicals can cause health problems not only for those who are initially exposed, but also for their future generations.¹⁸ In addition, workers in chemical and product manufacturing industries and people living near manufacturing sites are some of the most highly exposed and are often already at-risk of health consequences due to socio-economic, geographic, racial, and other disparities.¹⁹

Reducing the use of harmful chemicals in the workplace can improve the health and well being of your employees by reducing their direct exposure to chemicals that off gas and migrate from such products into indoor environments. In addition, reducing demand for harmful chemicals benefits fenceline communities located near factories by reducing their exposure to contaminated air, water and soil. Even people and wildlife in the wider environment are protected from chemical pollution that travels on wind and water, spreading contamination hundreds of miles from the source. Businesses have a huge opportunity and tremendous power to clean up the planet, protect vulnerable communities and be good stewards of health and the environment by choosing healthier products to produce, purchase, and use.

Over the last 15 years, leading organizations have developed internal practices to reduce and report on their own organization’s direct operational emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2 GhG emissions). However, according to the World Economic Forum, organizations addressing Scope 3 emissions (carbon emissions from the supply chain) can “impact a volume of emissions several times higher than they could if they were to focus on decarbonizing their own direct operations and power consumption alone.” [emphasis added] According to the US EPA, supply chains often account for more than 90% percent of an organization’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ²⁰

While it has not been possible to identify an accurate carbon intensity for each chemical of concern, the carbon footprint of these highly synthesized chemicals is significant. The chemical industry is reported to be the third-largest industrial source of the greenhouse gasses responsible for climate change.²¹ These products’ carbon emissions are generated from the mining/extracting, refining, production, and transportation processes associated with these chemicals.

The practice of “revisiting product design choices” was identified by the World Economic Forum as one of the nine key levers to reduce carbon emissions.²² In the specific case of furniture, product redesign is especially effective, as many of the Hazardous Handful chemicals are simply not needed in furniture products. So rather than having to replace a known harmful chemical with a lesser known chemical that may turn out to be equally, or more, harmful than the one it replaced, in furniture these chemicals can simply be avoided. By selecting furniture without the Hazardous Handful you are not only reducing the use of toxic chemicals, but also avoiding the chemicals’ large upstream supply emissions. Healthier procurement also supports product circularity and healthy recycling.

By selecting healthier products organizations can simultaneously reduce their carbon footprint and detoxify the supply chain.

There are a large number of healthier furniture options to choose from, as leading manufacturers are already offering products without the Hazardous Handful. Purchasing furniture without the Hazardous Handful helps increase the demand and availability of healthier options for everyone. See our Database of Healthier Furniture to identify manufacturers and products without the Hazardous Handful.

The purchase of products without the Hazardous Handful or the use of “salvaged, refurbished or reused furniture” products can contribute to several LEED points. Note: Generally salvaged, refurbished and reused furniture is defined as more than one year old at the time of use, although the details about furniture product requirements are noted within each credit.

Below are some of the credits that can be attained with healthier or reused furniture as a contributing factor to achieve these points.

• Material and Resources Credits: Interior Life Cycle Impact Reduction; Sourcing of Raw Materials: Responsible Sourcing of Raw Materials
• Furniture and Medical Furnishings: Although this credit is listed under LEED for Healthcare, it can be used as an innovation point in any Non-Healthcare LEED Rating System settings as well
• Environmental Quality Credit: Low Emitting Materials

This is not an exhaustive list as other credits may apply, or not apply, based on your particular project. For further information visit the US Green Building Council’s free Credit Library website. You can search by project type/rating system (e.g., BD+C New Construction, ID+C Commercial Interiors, Healthcare, Schools, etc.) and specify the version of LEED you are working under.

Helpful Hint: In order to claim some of these credits you may need to track your spend on reused/refurbished products and its percentage of overall spend and you may need to specify the use of reused furniture in your furniture plans and construction documents.

In addition to the loss of the natural resources embodied in the product, there are other serious carbon and toxic chemical implications. The toxic chemicals in landfilled furniture are carried via wind and air currents and can be transported all over the globe including to remote areas in the Arctic, far away from any industrialized source of these chemicals. In addition, runoff from the landfills can contaminate groundwater, rivers, and streams.²⁴

Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. The methane emissions from such landfills in 2020 were approximately equivalent to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from about 20.3 million passenger vehicles driven for one year or the CO2 emissions from nearly 11.9 million homes energy use for one year.”²⁵

Landfills tend to be situated in or next to communities of color and low-wealth communities where chemical production may be occurring and where people are already disproportionately exposed to toxic chemicals. These communities bear the carbon and toxic burden of our “disposable” economy.

Incineration is another option used for disposing of furniture. The EPA reported that 19.5% of furniture and furnishings were incinerated in 2018. Improper combustion of furnishings either through incomplete incineration of the products in formal incinerators, or through accidental combustion of furniture in building fires or in outdoor landfills can produce dioxins and furans, which are potent carcinogens. The incineration process can also release hazardous and greenhouse gas such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide into the air and leaves toxic residues in the remaining ash which must then be landfilled.

Reducing the use of toxic chemicals in furniture, and choosing to reuse, reupholster, or remanufacture furniture are ways in which businesses can advance the circular economy, reduce their carbon footprints, and protect the environment and our health.

• Reupholstered/Remanufactured products create reduced carbon emissions compared to emissions from the production/manufacturing of a new product. Much of a product’s emissions are related to the extraction, mining and/or production of materials for the product, especially metals and/or plastics.
• Reduced waste also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the USA.²⁶

• The reupholstering and remanufacturing process can retain usable and valuable resources such as wood, steel, aluminum, plastics, fibers, etc. as well as their embodied carbon footprint. By giving these products a second life you can help to reduce millions of tons of products ending up in landfill.
• The reuse/reupholstering of products containing wood can help prevent deforestation which contributes to biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.²⁷
• The reuse of existing resources can also reduce the pollution of air and water that is associated with the mining and other material extraction processes for new products.

• As mentioned in Make the Business Case, the purchase of furniture that does not contain the Hazardous Handful chemicals or the use of “salvaged, refurbished or reused furniture” products can contribute to several LEED points. Please refer to that section for suggestions of potential areas to gain LEED credit.
• For details about the requirements for each credit, visit the US Green Building Council’s free Credit Library website. You can search by project type/rating system (e.g., BD+C New Construction, ID+C Commercial Interiors, Healthcare, Schools, etc.) and specify the version of LEED you are working under.
• Helpful Hint: In order to claim some of these credits you may need to track your spend on reused/refurbished products and its percentage of overall spend and you may need to specify the use of reused furniture in your furniture plans and construction documents.

 Products that almost certainly contain flame retardant chemicals:

TB 117-2013 Label

TB 117 Label

• If the upholstered furniture product has no flammability label, and you know that the product was made prior to 2016 (before the updated furniture flammability standard was put into place).
• If the products have a furniture flammability label that says that the product meets Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117). Flame retardant chemicals were routinely used to meet that standard. The furniture flammability tag is usually found on the underside of office chairs or under a cushion in a couch.
• If the furniture product has a Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (TB 117-2013) label with a check box indicating that flame retardants were added to the product (see label)
• If your product is labeled as complying with TB 133 or ASTM E1537, the product is almost certain to contain flame retardants.

Suggested Action to be Taken: These products should not be reused or donated unless you replace the foam, fabric, barrier and decking materials with materials that do not contain flame retardants. 

Products that are less likely to contain flame retardants

• If an upholstered furniture product was produced after 2016 and has a furniture flammability label (usually found on the underside of office chairs or under a cushion in a couch) that indicates that the product meets the new furniture flammability standard, Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (TB 117-2013) OR has a label that says: “Complies with the U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability” 
• Since neither TB 117-2013 nor the US CPSC regulations prohibit the use of flame retardant chemicals, the product could theoretically contain flame retardants, although it is unlikely that it would. In these instances, you should check with the manufacturer to determine if flame retardants were used when the product was produced.

 Products that are highly unlikely to contain flame retardant chemicals

• If your product has a 117-2013 label and also includes a check box on the label indicating that flame retardant chemicals were not added to the product. 
• If your product is labeled as “Complies with the U.S. CPSC requirements for upholstered furniture flammability” and also contains the TB 117-2013 label with the check box indicating that flame retardant chemicals were not added, then that product does not contain flame retardants.

Unfortunately, it is more difficult to determine whether your product (typically the fabric) contains PFAS chemicals (often used as stain repellents), antimicrobials or PVC since there is no requirement that these chemicals be identified on the product label. Products that are/were advertised as stain or water resistant are likely to contain PFAS chemicals.

• If you have access to the original purchase order for the product, it may be possible to contact the manufacturer and ask if the material is made from vinyl or was treated with PFAS or antimicrobials. If the fabric is worn from use, it is easy to select a replacement fabric that does not contain these chemicals of concern. PVC fabric can contain flame retardant chemicals, phthalates or other hazardous materials and should also be replaced prior to reuse or donation.