My youngest has been ready to move out of his car seat and into a booster seat for a while - but it took me a while to decide on which one to buy for him.

The reason was certainly not because I was overwhelmed by a plethora of choices because, unfortunately, there are currently only 3  booster seat models that do not contain added flame retardant chemicals.

The reason, honestly,  was because they are so darn expensive and the one I had decided on had been out of stock for the last couple of months.

I won’t get too much into the frustrating fact that Graco has backless car seats starting at $18 and full back models starting at $24, but the 3 booster car seats that do not contain flame retardant chemicals retail at $310 $330 and $350.  The fact that we all have to choose between exposing my kids to known harmful flame retardant chemicals or pay $300 more to not expose him/her to them is just not right.   I was able to pay the premium but am all too aware that most mamas just can’t.  That needs to change and I am hopeful that in the coming year or two there will be newer models available. The market is changing (there are now 19 car seats - non booster- available without flame retardants when only a year ago there were only 3 or 4!) and just one year ago there were ZERO booster car seats available without added flame retardant chemicals - so I am grateful to both Clek and Britax for at taking the first step!

So; what are the options that exist for parents looking for a flame retardant free booster seat for the car?

• Britax One4Life convertible to booster car seat in these Safe Wash fabrics: Cadet, Eclipse Black, Plum and Drift.  This car seat is actually probably a great buy if you buy it from day 1:   it works for infants (5 lbs +) to older kids (120 lbs)! My son was already at 40lbs so it did not make sense to buy this model.

• Britax Grow With You ClickTight in Otto Safe Wash Fabric :  also a great buy for younger kids since it works as a  forward facing harness mode car seat and can transition  to belt positioning booster mode as your child grows from toddler to big kid.

• Clek Oobr Booster Car Seat in Mammoth Fabric

I ultimately choose the Clek Oobr - it weighs slightly less (20 lbs vs 27 lbs) and is slightly thinner (making our back seat more comfortable for 3 people - this is especially useful if you have two car seats! ).  The flame retardant free model (it must be the Mammoth fabric) is still sold out at many outlets, but I was able to purchase it from The Tot.

Now that it has arrived, I can honestly say  I am happy  with my purchase.   The wool fabric is amazing and soft; my son says it is not itchy and is, in fact, super comfortable.  It is super easy to install and I can also use it as a backless booster- which is another reason I liked it…..I feel like this option ideal for travel or perhaps when my son gets older.

You might still be wondering why I did pay the premium.   The answer is that I know too much about the shown harmful effects of flame retardant chemicals and it was just too hard to ignore what you already know ….

Background info 

As always, safety comes first and babies and children need to be placed in car seats, regardless of chemical exposure. Having said that, there are car seats on the market that will expose you children to significantly more toxic chemicals than others - so it is definitely worth doing your research (or reading this post!)

The law 

All car seats in the market right now in the US contain at least one chemical flame retardant in order to meet the federal fire test standard for vehicle accessories. Federal fire tests can be met by using wool - which is naturally a fire retardant - instead of chemicals. This is what Uppa Baby and Clek use. 

Remind me-why is this important? How exactly can flame retardants chemicals in the car seat affect my child? 

The problem with flame retardant chemicals is that they do not stick/ bind very well to the product they are used on.... thus, they are released over time. Mostly into dust particles and air 

then 

Heat and UV-ray exposure in cars can accelerate the release of these chemicals from products into the vehicle environment 

and then 

Infants, toddlers and children can be exposed to these chemicals through inhalation, ingestion and dermal (skin) absorption. 

finally, 

The longer your child sits in his/ her car seat the more exposed they are to these chemicals 

So, how bad are flame retardant? Is there such a thing as a safer fire retardant? 

The short answer: flame retardants are pretty bad (they are known to be carcinogens, hormone disruptors and developmental toxicants. Babies are the most vulnerable population in terms of exposure to these chemical, since their systems are still developing) and we don't really know if there is such a thing a  safe one. 

But, if these chemicals can save my child in a car fire- then isn't that more important? 

If the answer were yes, this debate would be quite different. The reality is that car fires move so fast that these fire retardants are no longer considered to be of any help retarding flames in real life scenarios

Bottom line?  There are now safer car seats available- if possible choose those for your little ones. 

If you want to read more about infant and baby/ toddler car seats that do not contain flame retardant chemicals (there are - thankfully- 17 options available!) read this post ‘2019: So Many New Car Seats Available Without Flame Retardant Chemicals!’