Yes, like you, I was very upset and frustrated. I ended up buying a Napoleon 3rd sofa as seen in picture (in an early comment above), and had it recovered in a linen. Nothing toxic or chemical. A bit more expesive but it keeps its value as an antique. It is so comfortable and We love it!

i just found this shop, with website tagline ”pioneering

natural&non-toxic upholstered furniture”.

https://www.bespoke180degree.co.uk/

we bought some vintage one-seaters last year that we are looking to reupholster (but so far have not found a FR free way to do so) so I will contact them. they also seem to sell sofas (not cheap though!).

they have a showroom in London not too far from where I live so will check them out and report back!

Hi, have just seen this in Homes and Gardens. Ouch to the price though! Haven’t googled it so am not sure of details.

Hi Laura - just to say I’ve just emailed Habbio about flame retardants, as they sound too good to be true but would love to hear they definitely don’t use chemicals. Will report back.

Thanks Jane

Any updates on this please?! We are looking to replace our oak furniture land sofa and would rather not do the same!

Personally I went for Habbio. I took their word for it about their sofas being FR-free, but who knows? I needed a relatively affordable sofa… – very happy with it. Excellent service, too.

Thanks! Wish there was somewhere to try / see it before buying!

We are in the process of getting our sofas reupholstered by Bespoke 180 Degrees. They are 100% FR free and only use natural materials. They do very serious due diligence on all materials used, so so far I do believe they are the best option out there forna truly non toxic sofa.

Customer service is very helpful and transparent and they are very clear on their mission: “Eco to the core”.

They also sell sofas, but I havent visited their workshop yet so I dont know if the sofas are on display to try.

https://www.bespoke180degree.co.uk/eco-sofa-shibui-1

As far as I know, reupholstering here in the UK means FR regulation apply and even if they add a cover that complies with the regulation without treatment ( meaning a more expensive fabric ), the foam inside the sofa will still contain FR.

I ended up buying Sofas in a French shop who imported these particular models from a Swedish fabricant. There's no FR in the fabric but, I am sure there is inside albeit a less toxic kind than the required to comply with UK's regulation.

Buying from EU does not necessarily imply 100% free of chemicals or FR. It's just that the UK regulation is ridiculously strict and pushes fabricants to add a greater quantity of FR + treat also the fabric cover. In addition, the worst kind of FR are not banned whereas I believe ( and hope ) that northern EU countries do ban those.

In addition, other chemicals are present such as the one in the paint used to color the fabric. When we received the sofas, I opened all windows but, still couldn't get into the living room for a couple of weeks.

To add to the above; no foam will be used in our reupholstered sofa. Same as for the cover fabric, there are natural alternatives available that meet fire regulations without the need for use of chemicals. They are just not as cheap as the foam option. I find it extremely frustrating, but I still rather pay the premium than accept buying a chemical FR treated option.

Hi @Laura L.! That's extremely interesting! Would you mind me asking what's used inside the cushions? I know that some fabricants use a mix of foam and feather but, I haven't been able to find any other 100% natural alternative so I'm very keen to hear if it exists ( I know there's a coconut based fibre that's available but, I haven't find any fabricant that uses it for Sofas so far ).

Thanks!

@Barbara Smith

Just copying this from their website:

MATERIALS

Sustainably sourced wood, luxurious 100% natural latex with toxicity score of ZERO, finest organic wool, compostable botanical wadding (vegan option)

Hi all. Re: Habbio, here is the email I received back from them:

“Our fabrics are naturally flame retardant, using totally non-toxic alternatives, so we don't need to sneak any interliners in there to meet UK requirements.

We aren't getting around any rules, we're still able to produce furniture that is fire retardant, we're just using natural materials that are mostly less well known. That means it's a little easier for us to incorporate it into our production process, as we are a small family business, and very new, so we have adopted the practice since we founded Habbio, and built it into our infrastructure.

The sofa industry does need to change, but there is little awareness and demand for sustainable sofas, so many of the bigger companies aren't jumping into action. There are so few companies that have made the environment a priority that the path is not well trodden, and so walking down it requires a lot of research, time and money.”

Hope that helps. Good to read on here that someone bought a Habbio and is happy with it. Jane

I shall buy my next sofa from Eco sofa at Trent Upholsterers in Nottingham. I've visited them and discussed the options at length. You can have all natural materials like wool, feather, natural latex and they won't require Fire Retardant spray.

On another note. Our mattresses and pillows are from COTTONSAFE in Devon. Beautiful mattresses world FR spray.

And all our paint is VOC free from Lakeland.

Another question- has anyone bought a sofa from the continent and brought it over to UK? To avoid fire retardant sprays?

Thank

Further to my earlier message about Cotton Safe in Devon. We have bought 3 mattresses from them. They are beautiful products.

We bought 2 vegan mattresses and a super king size Appledore mattress which had wool in it.

By far our favourite mattress has proven to be the vegan style- I think they do it in 3 price options. Go for the most expensive one. It's so comfortable. We sleep soundly on it and wake up without bad backs or shoulders.

Worth the money.

They also make futon sofa beds which double up as sofas or occasional beds.

You can also buy a sofa bed because it is good and best for use and the staff is also soft.

Amazing thanks, I’m going to up cycle my old sofa by using the frame and just putting one of these on top. May ask for a bit of extra fabric to cover the sides.

Potential solutions: As a previous poster on this thread, and having spent a year now looking for a non-toxic sofa in the UK, without toxic PFAS/flame retardants, and without toxic glues, sealants, paints and foams etc. (already having numerous chemical allergies causing excema/allergic contact dermatitis, as well as systemic contact dermatitis), I wanted to come back and share the two solutions I went with in the end. Basically, I went with the build your own sofa option, through two channels to coordinate my living room & spare room seating set:

1) Replica Danish designed solid oak (unsealed - to be Osmo Polyx oiled by/for me after) Han Wenger GE290 sofa/armchairs, together with a separately sourced all natural materials set of bench cushions for seat & back (wool filled, cotton covered, various suppliers)

https://www.swiveluk.com/uk/hans-wegner-style-ge-290-3-seater-sofa.html

and

2) Unsealed (again, to be Oxmo Polyx oiled by/for me) solid oak Get Laid Beds Modern Daybed frame in a UK small single size. Note that the standard battens & slats are made of pine, which I switched to solid oak for additional cost to avoid the limonene/VOC offgassing from pine. Note also that limonene combines with ozone in the air to form formaldehyde which is a carcinogen. To this, I added a firm, Button & Sprung all natural materials mattress (custom sized to UK small single), and will add wool-filled, cotton/linen covered back cushions (various suppliers):

https://www.getlaidbeds.co.uk/wooden-beds/day-beds/modern-day-wooden-bed-frame

https://www.buttonandsprung.com/borderdale-single-mattress

From a sustainability standpoint, not only are these solutions PFAS/flame retardant free, but the clear separation of solid wood frame and mattresses/cushions means that the parts are repairable / replacable over time, making the whole pieces much longer lasting than any currently traditional soft sofa. Really, this is just borrowing best practices in material conservation and sustainability from our grandparents' generation. As an added bonus for busy households, I can readily add mattress protectors and removable, washable covers, which really should be standard for all commercially bought sofas.

Now the million pound question for consumers, for furniture manufacturers & furniture industry associations, and for UK regulators, is why the heck can't we just buy something like this in one piece from one provider in the first place (?!). It really shouldn't be this hard!!

This is really interesting - thank you for detailing your solutions. Did you go for the ”untreated” option with the daybed then? Would you mind sharing your supplier options for the cushions / seat backs please?

@Jane Did you end up getting the sofa from 'Unto This Last'? It looks like one of the few sofas in the UK that might be both non-toxic AND relatively affordable?!

Hi @Rebecca Hand, no I didn’t, I think I was just adding that onto this thread in case it helped others make choices - we had bought our sofa a year or so before in the end. (From Sofas and Stuff with wool fabric, no interliner apparently). Sadly Unto This Last have now stopped trading.

Has anyone tried slow sofa?

@Alondoner I got my bed from get laid they do solid wood frames .Got a treated one though .Finding a sofa seems much harder than bedframes and matteresess .Then you have to find something you actually like .Not sure what to do i will probably check out bespoke 180 and see .i have seen such a lovely sofo in Sofology , what to do …….

Found this thread online. I'm a single parent. Just moved to a new home and looking at sofas. In the shop today they mentioned how everything has FR treatment by law. My 2 year old has eczema already. I am about to have a second baby any day now. I have a SharkNinja Air purifier but don't believe this will protect us enough. I've checked out the brands suggested here but they're all very expensive. Can anyone advise on how to do damage control if I buy a "normal" 3 piece suite please? After a very recent break up and move from my ex partner I'm not in a position to afford much but am aware how damaging these chemicals are. Thanks in advance.

It's so tricky to find one that's affordable. I don't have any advice, other than presumably 2nd hand would be a little better as it would have aired out more? I'm wondering about buying from Europe and importing with Shiply as someone else in this thread mentioned. Buying 2nd hand non-toxic from Europe would possibly be even cheaper if one could find the right avenues.

Does anybody have any ideas which country might be best to source from?

Thanks for your advice. It's definitely too expensive to buy the non toxic. Tbh I'm going to order a new sofa set and hope my air purifier helps. The other question I had was about washing the FR off. I'd said to the lady in the shop I'd be washing the cushions and she said horrified that I cant because it'll take the FR off. I said that was ideal. So is it that easy to reduce toxin exposure?

l ordered from Europe and used Shipley. There is a UK company (can't remember the ) they'll come up on Google if you search non toxic sofas etc. they use wool as wool is fire resistant due to its moisture content l believe.

lkea sofas outside UK don't use FR you could search for those and use Shipley too.

@Jane and all, further to my posting above re how to readily build/compile  your own safe sofa, for the cushion backs on a UK Small Single sized daybed frame with UK Small Single mattress as outlined, I added 4 of yhe following as cushion backs, overstuffing them with extra wool from the same company:

https://www.baavet.co.uk/square-pillow

Also, in the end, rather than Osmo Polyx Oil (which still offgasses some toxic fumes), I went instead with a polymerised linseed oil & beeswax blend from Parr's, which is VOC-free (available on Amazon UK).

@A Londoner could you please respond think you may of missed it .thanks very much

@Jason - you didn't ask any question. Please see all my previous posts here - already shared my solution.

@Jason … We are upholsterers and can make up a non toxic sofa to replicate your preferred style.
Get in touch for a brief chat further
info@upholstered-solutions.com
Look forward to hearing from you. Caryl

Hope it's ok to post on here - we are a small independent furniture, bed and (organic) mattress shop based in Bristol. In response to customer requirements, we have developed a non glue furniture range, using solid pieces of Quebec pine, usually finished with a natural (minimal VOC) AURO 160 finish, or with an alternative suggested by the customer (eg Lakeland, Earthborn). We have a lot of customers wishing to avoid standard industry finishes, so are constantly adding to our product range - all of our products are handmade in the UK, from sustainable sources and can be made to size. Our website is greenwoodsfurniture.co.uk

Hey @yan. @Jane, We bought a Raine's sofa from Slow. (slowsofa.co.uk) it uses 100% organic latex for the cushions, the frame is covered in something called Ultraflex that is hypoallergenic and free of VOCs. We got it covered in their Premium velvet (also VOC and FR free) Their cusomer service team were super helpful - they also have a bunch of other fabrics. Great service, arrived very quickly.

@Megan Manners i am also speaking to slow sofa atm performance wool but i have borrowed an idea from somewhere to hopefully totally happy 🤞🏽🙏🏽 .Not there yet .

This is the reply from Slow: “ I would be happy to provide you with information about fire retardants in our fabrics. Among the fabrics in our range, the Performance Wool, Performance Velvet, Performance Plush Velvet, and Vintage Linen have not been treated with fire retardant chemicals. Wool, known for its natural properties, is inherently fire retardant, which means our Performance Wool fabric offers natural fire resistance. As for the Vintage Linen, we use a wool interlinear on our sofas, which acts as a natural fire retardant. The Performance Velvet and Performance Plush Velvet fabrics have been developed with a unique weave that provides fire retardant qualities without the need for back-coating and chemicals. This makes these fabrics inherently fire retardant and enhances their safety. Additionally, our cushions are made from natural latex and feather, ensuring the absence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). ”

Hi All,

Seems like @Nat Blas74 has done the work for me, thank you Natasha!

If anyone has any further questions regarding FR, VOC's or generally the eco credentials of our fabrics and fillings feel free to reach out to us on info@slowsofa.co.uk.

Also @Megan Manners we're absolutely delighted to hear that you love your sofa, it was a pleasure to work with you and your comments are greatly appreciated!

All the best,

Olivia

Hello, please have a look at Mater Designs they are a great sustainable company, if you need any further information please do let us know. Thank you https://www.couchpotatocompany.com/search?q=mater&options%5Bprefix%5D=last

Hi all, I have been corresponding with Arlene Blum the woman who led the efforts to have FR free furniture. She is saying that the UK is currently having a consultation on this topic and to write to your representatives.

" Please consider writing to the UK officials and letting them know about your concerns regarding the use of FRs in the UK furniture in order to meet ineffective furniture flammability standards. The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards is holding a consultation on its proposed approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture and furnishings. The deadline is October 24. You can encourage the UK government to follow a US approach, where the fire safety is protected without the need to add harmful FR to furniture."

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smarter-regulation-fire-safety-of-domestic-upholstered-furniture

https://greensciencepolicy.org/news-events/blog/webinar-recap-purchasing-fire-safe-healthier-furniture

Please share widely with your networks and write to have the option to have no chemical fire retardants in our furniture.

FIDRA has more information on this topic. Even industry wants to do away with this.

https://www.fidra.org.uk/sustainable-fire-safety/mattress-and-furniture-industry-call-to-end-reliance-on-chemical-flame-retardants/

@A Londoner I was inspired by your make-it-yourself sofa ideas and have bought a 2nd hand oak sofa which has removable cushions. So I am left with just the frame and am now wanting to get cushion casings made for the base and back and then stuff them possibly with wool (the base is unfortunately not the right size for a mattress). I have heard concerns about the smell of wool if it gets wet and also the firmness / comfort of the sofa as the wool cushions might flatten over time? Have you had this experience?

Hi all. The government consultation on flame retardants closes TODAY (24th). Please respond if you can! Info to help can be found here: https://www.eco-chair.co.uk/cfr-campaign. 

Sadly having to sell my all natural, flame retardant-free sofa/daybed set-up due to moving home. For sale here in case anyone's interested - hope you don't mind the plug!: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176101406932

Are there any updates on the FR hearing from October?

So glad I found this thread, which confirms my own research! Rabbit hole indeed 😕 Just to say that Cotton safe now also do sofas - not cheap but when you see the quality of them, it is a joy. They have also launched some new beds and headboards. We visited their showroom and they were amazing, we learnt a lot about the industry 🙏🏻 definitely recommend them 👍🏻

@Louise Botos could you tell me more about the Shiply experience? We are also looking to order from IKEA in Belgium. Did you have to pay VAT and customs, or just VAT? Did you have the company get the box from Ikea or deliver the order to them?

Just thought I'd revive this thread as I'm in the market for a new sofa. Has anyone come across any options recently that doesn't involve shipping from abroad?