designTHE ENVIRONMENT FOR

Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership 

What Is EPA’s Design for the


Environment Program?


EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) 

Program works in partnership with a broad 

range of stakeholders to reduce risk to 

people and the environment by preventing 

pollution. Partnerships focus on industries 

that combine the potential for chemical risk 

reduction with a strong motivation to 

make lasting, positive changes. DfE 

convenes partners, including industry 

representatives and environmental groups, 

who develop goals and guide the work of 

the partnership. 

As incentives for participation and driving 

change, DfE offers unique technical tools, 

methodologies, and expertise. Partnerships 

evaluate the human health and 

environmental risks, performance, and cost 

of traditional and alternative technologies, 

materials, and processes. 

DfE has formed partnerships with a range 

of industries including: 

• Auto refinishing 

• Chemical product formulators 

• Electronics 

• Printed wiring board manufacturing 

• Lead-free solder 

• Computer displays 

• Furniture 

• Garment and textile care 

• Industrial and institutional laundry 

• Printing 

• Wire and cable 

Flame-Retardant Alternatives 

for Furniture Foam 

What is the Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership?

The Furniture Flame Retardancy Partnership is a 

multi-stakeholder effort to investigate and 

disseminate information on alternative 

flame-retardant technologies for achieving furniture 

fire safety standards. Partners include the American 

Fire Safety Council (AFSC), the American Home 

Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), the Business and 

Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA), the 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), GreenBlue Institute 

(GreenBlue), and EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) Program. 

Pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE) has been the primary flame 

retardant in the manufacture of low-density, flexible polyurethane 

foam for furniture. PentaBDE, with its ability to delay ignition of 

materials, has saved lives, but there are concerns over its use. Studies 

worldwide have found pentaBDE to be widespread in the 

environment and in human tissues. Because pentaBDE was voluntarily 

phased out at the end of 2004, it is important to find environmentally 

preferable ways to achieve fire safety. 

The partnership was formed with the belief that enhanced fire safety is 

critical and that it should be achieved in a way that minimizes risk to 

human health and the environment 

What Work Has Been Conducted by the Partnership?

The first product of the partnership is the report: “Environmental 

Profiles of Chemical Flame-Retardant Alternatives for Low-Density 

Polyurethane Foam,” which evaluates the leading chemical alternatives 

to pentaBDE for flame retarding low-density foam. Note, however, 

that the report does not include an assessment of other 

flame-retardant technologies, such as barriers or fabric backcoatings, 

which may be used in the future to meet a planned CPSC national 

flammability standard for residential upholstered furniture. 

How Did the Partnership Evaluate Chemicals?

Leading U.S. flame-retardant chemical manufacturers identified 14 

chemical formulations that are potentially viable substitutes for 

large-scale production of low-density flexible polyurethane foam. 

September 2005 www.epa.gov/dfe EPA 742-F-05-001 
EPA assessed the hazards, potential exposures and 

tendency to bioaccumulate and persist in the 

environment for the chemicals in each formulation. EPA 

presented hazard concern levels for key toxicological 

and environmental endpoints based on experimental 

data where available, or estimated data. EPA also 

provided information on potential routes of exposure, 

based on physical and chemical properties. 

The screening-level hazard and exposure 

information is presented in the report at three levels to 

meet the needs of a range of audiences and maximize 

transparency: 

• A table showing a qualitative summary of each 

formulation that assigns a high, moderate, or low 

hazard concern level for each chemical according to 

the key human health and environmental 

endpoints. 

• Quantitative summaries of the toxicity and exposure 

data from publicly available literature, EPA’s 

confidential databases, chemical companies, 

EPA’s New Chemicals Program, as well as the 

professional judgment of EPA staff. 

• Detailed hazard data reviews with a summary of the 

availability and adequacy of data and a full data 

review by endpoint. References are included for 

chemicals that are not proprietary. 

Which Flame Retardant Chemical Should I

Select?

The report does not rank flame-retardant formulations; 

the Partnership agreed that no single alternative is 

expected to provide an ideal solution to address every 

situation. While not providing full risk assessments, the 

report does provide screening-level information on the 

hazard concerns and potential routes of exposure 

associated with chemical components of flame-retardant 

formulation. 

Concerns over pentaBDE center on its persistence in the 

environment and its tendency to bioaccumulate. The 

flame retardants evaluated in the report, however, do 

not appear to have concerns for persistence and 

bioaccumulation. 

The report contains the following goals for developers 

and users of flame-retardant chemicals to minimize risk 

to human health and the environment. Risk is composed 

of two parts – hazard and exposure. These goals are 

based on minimizing the potential for hazard and 

exposure. 

• Low persistence and bioaccumulation 

• Low toxicity –less potential for harm, even if some 

exposure occurs 

• Low exposure (e.g., some flame-retardant chemicals 

may be more stable in the foam matrix, reducing the 

potential for release into the environment) 

• Low potential for persistence, bioaccumulation, and 

toxicity for breakdown products 

Other considerations include: 

• Aesthetic and performance considerations: 

appearance, durability, and fire safety 

• Process, equipment and cost considerations 

• Alternative technologies and design (e.g., the use of 

barriers and inherently flame-retardant materials) 

The report is available on the DfE website at 

http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/index.htm#ffr 

What Are Next Steps for the Partnership?

The partnership plans to develop and implement a 

process to identify additional toxicological data needed 

for adequately assessing the flame-retardant alternatives 

reviewed in this report. In the future, the partnership 

intends to evaluate additional chemical flame retardants 

and other materials that may be necessary to meet 

planned national fire safety standards. 

How Can I Get More Information?

To learn more about the DfE Program or the Furniture 

Flame Retardancy Partnership, or to obtain an electronic 

version of this fact sheet (document #EPA 742-F-05-001), 

visit the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics’ DfE 

Program Web site: www.epa.gov/dfe. 

To obtain hard copies of DfE Program technical reports, 

pollution prevention case studies, and project 

summaries, contact: 

National Service Center for Environmental Publications 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

P.O. Box 42419 

Cincinnati, OH 45242 

Phone: (513) 489-8190, (800) 490-9198 

Fax: (513) 489-8695 

E-mail: ncepimal@one.net 

EPA 742-F-05-001 www.epa.gov/dfe Page 2