Many household items — especially mattresses, sofas, rugs, curtains, and children’s products — are treated with flame retardants and other chemical coatings to meet outdated flammability standards.

🚫 Common treatments include:

• PBDEs and other flame retardants – known to accumulate in fat and breast milk; linked to hormone disruption, neurotoxicity, and developmental effects.
• Formaldehyde-based wrinkle- and stain-resistant treatments
• PFAS (used in stain- and water-resistant fabrics) – “forever chemicals” that don’t break down and are linked to immune suppression and cancer.

Even when not directly touched, these chemicals shed into household dust, where they’re inhaled or ingested.