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Where to Buy Nontoxic Furniture for Your Bedroom?
If you’re trying to improve the air quality in your bedroom and create a non-toxic environment, apart from investing in an organic mattress and an air purifier, you should also make sure that the furniture in your bedroom is made from organic natural materials free from potentially harmful chemicals.
Nowadays there are more and more companies offering non-toxic furniture as more people become aware of risks related to VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in common furniture. In this article, I’ll explain what are VOCs and how they can affect your health but first I’ll discuss a few brands that offer high quality, Greenguard certified furniture for a toxin-free bedroom and a healthy home.
Where to Buy Nontoxic Furniture?
Atlantic Furniture
Atlantic Furniture is a member of Sustainable Furnishings Council. They use only plantation-grown hardwood, mostly rubber wood, mahogany, birch and poplar. Their eco friendly furniture is finished with non toxic stains and uses non toxic glues that don’t contain any lead, formaldehyde, or VOCs.
This company offers some of the most affordable non toxic furniture pieces on the market. Check their selection of solid wood bedroom, living room, dining and office furniture.
Avocado
If you like reclaimed wood furniture, you may want to check Avocado low VOC furniture. This company is based in Los Angeles and it specializes in organic mattresses, but they also have a small range of nontoxic furniture for your bedroom. Their furniture is made from 100% reclaimed wood with rustic raw finish and a zero VOCs sealant.
Within their natural wood furniture range, you’ll be able to find bed frames, dressers, and tables, all made from natural materials without harmful chemicals. The price includes in-home delivery and setup. You can check Avocado bedroom furniture range here:
The Futon Shop
Futon Shop offers a range of non-toxic mattresses, bedding, and zero VOCs furniture handcrafted in the US. They make beautiful natural bed frames made from sustainable wood free from formaldehyde emitting glues and not fumigated with poisons. They only use simple linseed oil, no petroleum or heavy metal toxins.
They also offer 100% chemical-free futon frames that can be used as sofas made from cherry, oak, and walnut wood with no lacquer or stains just a simple hand-rubbed natural linseed oil finish.
Greenington
Greenington
Apart from bedroom furniture, they offer living room and dining room sets with modern, minimalistic design.
Copeland
I’m impressed by Copeland furniture as they not only offer beautiful designs that combine contemporary and traditional styles but also all their furniture is Greenguard certified. Copeland was established in the 1970s and is located in Bradford, Vermont.
Copeland offers ecofriendly furniture collections for your whole house and their bedroom sets are characterized by impressive designs with classic lines available in five different shades of stained wood.
Medley Home
Medley Home was set up by nature and wellness enthusiasts and they use natural materials whenever possible. They only use domestically grown wood that follows strict FSC rules for sustainable forestry. Their furniture is made from solid wood and zero VOC finish with beeswax, carnauba wax, and olive oil. The fabrics in their upholstered furniture contain no fire retardants or stain finishes, and they use fabrics such as 100% natural cotton, hemp, and wool, and some of their textiles are certified organic.
Check their green furniture selection by clicking on the photo below:
Area Home
Area Home makes sustainable, solid wood furniture with natural wax finishes. This non toxic furniture is made from solid FSC Certified Sustainable American Ash, American white oak, walnut, or maple. They offer a small but beautiful collection of zero VOC bedroom and living room furniture. It’s also worth checking their collection of organic bedding products.
Read More: Where to buy a non toxic sofa?
Mash Studios
Mash Studios make solid wood furniture free from formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals. Their furniture is made in the US from solid English Walnut and the finishes they use are either natural (linseed oil) or zero-VOC, so you can be sure there will no chemical smell and they won’t be releasing any toxic substances into the air.
Their furniture is 100% recyclable and eco-friendly.
Viva Terra
Viva Terra is a company inspired by green living. They offer a beautiful selection of reclaimed wood furniture and low VOC furniture. They use only natural finishes and rich water-based non-toxic stains. Their reclaimed wood furniture is handcrafted from reclaimed California Douglas Fir wood.
At Viva Terra you can also buy non toxic upholstered furniture with regenerated fiber fill. The fill is made from renewable, soy-based BiOH™ polyol core and 50/50 cotton and polyester blend down-proof ticking.
Urban Green
This Brooklyn based company is committed to organic, sustainable design to help you improve your indoor air quality. All their pieces can be ordered unfinished or finished using high-quality coats with the lowest VOC available in the market, safe to humans and animals and eco-friendly.
Urban Green also uses low VOC glues and adhesives. They use Forest Stewardship Council MDF (Medium Density Fireboard) and their paint finishes are certified formaldehyde-free.
Their designs range from classic trends from the 20th century to more contemporary styles, including upholstered furniture, so you’re bound to find pieces that will suit your needs. You can check their whole collection by clicking below:
Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim Woodworks company was set up in 1981 and it specializes in handcrafted bedroom furniture. They use maple wood sourced in the pacific northwest and it’s certified by Forest Stewardship Council.
They also use hardwood plywood with PureBond formaldehyde-free technology helping them make furniture with low VOC emissions for your healthy home.
They use tung oil and pure beeswax to finish their pieces instead of harsh chemicals and they make sure that is they use other types of wood finishes, they are always low VOC. They also use low VOC glues and adhesives Their designs are classic and simple.
Read More: Where to buy a non toxic bed frame?
What are VOCs?
Volatile organic compounds are organic chemicals that evaporate at a high rate in room temperature. Some of them can be potentially toxic and be harmful to your health if you’re exposed to them on a regular basis.
The most common harmful VOCs found in toxic furniture, cleaning products, paints and carpets are:
- Solvents, such as aliphatic hydrocarbons, ethyl acetate, glycol ethers, and acetone
- Methylene chloride
- Formaldehyde
- Tetrachloroethylene
- Toluene
- Xylene
Indoor Air Pollutants
Some of these compounds release a toxic chemical smell, but others can’t be detected this way. Eliminating those compounds from your indoor air is one of the first steps towards a cleaner and toxin-free air and organic natural furniture will help you create a nontoxic home.
How do VOCs Affect your Health?
Volatile organic compounds found in toxic furniture are continuously released into indoor air. They can affect you in different ways depending on how long you’re exposed to them. After short term exposure, a few hours or days, you may experience:
- Eye, nose and throat irritation
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Impaired vision
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Loss of coordination
- Memory impairment
- Worsening of asthma symptoms
However, long term exposure, months or years, can have much more severe consequences including:
- Liver damage
- Kidney damage
- Central nervous system damage
- Cancer
There’s ongoing research into other health risks related to volatile compounds, so there’s still a lot to be learned. However, so far the evidence shows that VOC should be eliminated from your environment and buying non-toxic furniture is bound to significantly improve the air quality in your home.
What is a Greenguard Certificate?
When looking for non-toxic furniture, make sure they’ve got are Greenguard certified. Greenguard certification is issued for products that meet rigorous criteria for VOCs emissions set by key public health agencies.
By buying furniture with Greenguard Certificate you can be sure that it’s got very low emissions of chemicals into your indoor air helping you create a healthier environment for you and your family.
There are also many manufacturers whose products have not yet received a Greenguard Certificate. You should also take them into consideration as they usually offer quality products that may have a different kind of green certification or they haven’t been assessed by Greenguard yet.
What is the Forest Stewardship Council?
Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization that promotes responsible forestry. FSC assesses forests all over the world to check if they meet their strict environmental and social standards.
Products made with wood and paper from FSC certified forests are labeled with their logo (on the right). FSC certified wood is harvested respecting indigenous people’s rights without causing any harm to the environment.
What Else is Important When Buying Nontoxic Furniture?
Apart from making sure that the manufacturer doesn’t use adhesives and paints with high VOC concentration, you should also pay attention to the following:
- Flame Retardants: According to new legislation from 2015, manufacturers can produce furniture without using toxic chemicals such as chlorinated Tris or brominated flame retardants which can find their way to dust and be inhaled or ingested. Look for a TB117-2013 tag on the label, which means that the product meets fire safety standards without using toxic fire retardants.
- If you’re buying upholstered furniture, make sure it’s filling is made of natural materials such as natural latex, wool, cotton or down instead of polyester or synthetic foams. It’s also more environmentally friendly and healthier to pick pieces made with organic textiles that haven’t been treated with harsh chemicals.
- Choose furniture made of sustainable materials such as bamboo or Forest Stewardship Council certified wood.
What Else Can You do for a Greener Bedroom?
Apart from buying ecofriendly furniture, there’s a lot you can do to significantly reduce the concentration of VOCs in your indoor air. Some solutions require spending money while others are completely free and consist of changing your old habits. Check the following tips to see what you can do to breathe toxin-free air in your home:
- Don’t store used paints, solvents and adhesives because they may leak and release VOCs into the air. If you have to store them, make sure you put them in a place where people don’t spend time (a garage or a shed)
- Whenever possible, purchase low-VOC paints and furnishing.
- Choose solid wood items over composite wood as they contain less VOCs
- Make sure your ventilation at home works properly, change ventilator filters regularly and keep your windows open whenever possible to allow for constant air circulation
- Use an air purifier to help you get rid of potentially harmful particles in your indoor air
- Choose organic mattresses as they don’t off-gas helping you achieve a VOC free environment
- Get rid of all the cleaning products you’ve got at home and replace them with organic ones or make your own homemade cleaning products.
- If you need more information about improving air quality in your home, don’t hesitate to check my article where I discuss this topic in detail.
Conclusion
Research shows that VOCs can have a catastrophic effect on your health and that of your family. Lowering VOCs emissions in your home should become one of your priorities. It does require some investment, but healthy you and a healthy family are worth every price.
Start by changing your cleaning products for organic ones, then buy organic mattresses, organic mattress toppers, low VOC furniture and paint your walls with low VOC paint. These steps will help you achieve a nontoxic home and healthy sleep.
You’ll see a big difference in the quality of the air you and your family breathe and you may notice an immediate difference if you suffer from asthma or other respiratory diseases.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with non-toxic furniture. Do you have your favorite brands you’d like to recommend? Please share your opinions and questions in the comment section below.
