Who's The Most Non Toxic Car Seat of Them All?
December 2016: Thanks to numerous chemical conscious parents that have commented below and contacted me directly, I have written an updated post on this topic, since a new studyhas been released that tested 15 car seats for flame retardant chemicals. To read the results, read our blog post ' FLAME RETARDANTS CHEMICALS STILL USED IN ALL BUT ONE CAR SEAT BRAND TESTED (NEW STUDY) for more on this topic and feel free to comment or contact me directly!
This week I have been researching car seats. Living in New York City, without a car, we have been using a very basic car seat that the hospital gave us when my munchkin was born. However, since we have increasingly been renting cars and making day trips it is time for us to upgrade.
Car seats, as readers of my blog might remember, are infamous for being amongst the most toxic of childhood items, thanks mostly to the flame retardants and PVC ( plastic) used in their manufacturing. This weeks challenge? Find a safe car seat without any of these nasty chemicals
Why do I want to avoid flame retardants and PVC in my munchkin's car seat?
To an extent it makes safety sense for a car seat to have flame retardants - in case of an accident you would want your munchkin to be protected from any fire that could break out. However, companies like Orbit Baby have found non- halogenated (i.e. not as toxic) fire retardants that can be used and are just as effective.
The main type of fire retardants we want to avoid are brominated and chlorinated flame retardants (BFRs & CFRs). These are mostly added to plastics and have been associated with thyroid problems, learning and memory impairment, decreased fertility, and behavioral changes.
The other chemical you want to avoid is PVC ( polyvinyl chloride), which is widely used in plastics . PVC has been associated with decreased fertility, pre-term deliveries, and damage to the liver, testes, thyroid, ovaries, kidneys, and blood, among a long list of ailments.
Heat, unavoidable inside cars especially in summer, can break down these chemicals at a faster rate, possibly increase their toxicity. As with all chemical exposure, babies are most vulnerable since they are still developing and many spend many hours in their car seats. As first time moms quickly find out, being able to attatch an infant car seat to a stroller base without awakening a sleeping baby is priceless!
(to read more on the dangers of flame retardants read our blog post ' Playing With Fire' What car seats have the least chemicals in them?
(December 2016 UPDATE: Thanks to numerous chemical conscious parents that have commented below and contacted me directly, I have written an updated post on this topic, since a new studyhas been released that tested 15 car seats for flame retardant chemicals. To read the results, read our blog post ' FLAME RETARDANTS CHEMICALS STILL USED IN ALL BUT ONE CAR SEAT BRAND TESTED (NEW STUDY) for more on this topic and feel free to comment or contact me directly!)
When choosing a car seat, safety should of course be your primary focus. Do your research and decide which makes most safety sense for your family. Once you have 2 or 3 final options, you might want to choose from the following companies who either do not include brominated flame retardants in their products or have vowed to phase them out. Orbit Baby: by far the leader in non-toxic baby products, All Orbit Baby G2 products "use fabrics certified by the International Oeko-Tex® Association to be completely free of PBBs, PBDEs, TRIS, TEPA, HBCDD, SCCP, and TCEP. Most fabrics and foams require treatment with some flame retardants in order to meet federally mandated car seat requirements. Of our fabrics that have been treated, they contain non-toxic flame retardants" . The down side? Orbit Baby products are quite expensive. Britax: the company vowed to phase out both brominated flame retardants and PVC by the end of 2012. I called the headquarters and they explained that to make sure your new car seat does not include these chemicals you should look at the manufacturing date, which can be found on the outside of the box... It needs to say January 2013 or later. Graco: During the summer of 2012 Graco committed to banning the use of four of the most toxic chemical flame retardants from all of their products. While the company has not disclosed what substitute chemicals they will use, it is still a great step in providing a healthier car seat without 4 of the most toxic fire retardants in use today ( plus it includes their car seats, strollers and swings!) .... Unfortunately they have not given a phase out date as of yet and thus there is still not way to make sure that your Graco product does not contain these 4 chemicals. So stay tuned..... For 2011 or older models , Healthystuff.org has super useful list of over 300 car seats (booster seats, infant seats and toddler car seats) that they tested for toxic chemicals. They then classify them by level of concern ( ' high' ' medium' or ' low' ) and allow you to click on any individual brand and model to find out what chemicals were found in that particular model. Another great source!
Happy travels !
December 2016: Thanks to numerous chemical conscious parents that have commented below and contacted me directly, I have written an updated post on this topic, since a new studyhas been released that tested 15 car seats for flame retardant chemicals. To read the results, read our blog post ' FLAME RETARDANTS CHEMICALS STILL USED IN ALL BUT ONE CAR SEAT BRAND TESTED (NEW STUDY) for more on this topic and feel free to comment or contact me directly!