San Francisco Prohibits Sale of Furniture Treated with Flame Retardants

San Francisco has banned the sale of furniture treated with flame retardants. This legislation comes after similar bans were passed in two U.S. states, Rhode Island and Maine.  Retailors have until January 2019 to sell their current inventory before San Francisco's law goes into effect.  

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission voted in September to ban organohalogenated flame retardants in several product categories including:  

• children's products; 
• upholstered residential furniture; 
• mattresses; and
• the external casings of electronics devices. 

In Vireo's Flame Retardant Spotlight, we discuss what exactly flame retardant chemicals are, why they are used in some classes of consumer products, and why blanket bans on such a diverse group of chemicals, such as the recent ban passed in the above mentioned areas of the U.S., is a bad idea when trying to protect consumers.