Green Science Policy Institute
The Green Science Policy Institute provides unbiased scientific data to government, industry, and non-governmental organizations to facilitate more informed decision-making about chemicals used in consumer products.
California Proposes New Furniture Standard
February 8, 2013: The state of California released a draft updated flammability standard, TB117-2013, that provides better fire safety without the use of harmful flame retardant chemicals.
When will the new standard go into effect?
Read more on our blog
For Consumers
Safe Kids Campaign:Learn about flame retardants in baby products
Resources for Consumers
How to reduce toxics in your home
Buying flame retardant-free furniture
FAQs
More consumer resources
Take Action
Sign our petition to the CPSC to Take the Toxic Chemicals out of my Couch. We ask the CPSC to hurry up and enact their draft standard.
New Study: Toxics in Buildings
Our peer-reviewed paper Flame retardants in building insulation: a case for reevaluating building codes was published in Building Research & Information. Read more on our blog.
The Safer Insulation Solution is a coalition of architects, fire scientists, green builders and designers working to change building codes to reduce the use of potentially harmful flame retardants while maintaining fire safety.
Our Science
The majority of couches we tested in our 2012 study with Dr. Heather Stapleton at Duke University contained toxic flame retardants associated with cancer, hormone disruption, and neurological harm. Read more on our blog .
Environmental Science & Technology's Top Science Paper of 2011 was our paper finding that 80% of baby products tested contained flame retardant chemicals. View Paper
Do Flame Retardants Save Lives?
Our peer-reviewed study with leading fire scientist Vytensis Babrauskas Flame Retardants in Furniture Foam: Benefits and Risks, found that California's furniture flammability standard Technical Bulletin 117 does not provide measurable fire safety benefits.
Read our review paper Halogenated Flame Retardants in Humans and the Environment: Do the Fire Safety Benefits Justify the Hazards?
Learn more about our projects or view past presentations.
Video Introduction to Flame Retardants
Support Our Work
The Green Science Policy Institute has prevented the addition of millions of pounds of unneeded chemicals to furniture, bed coverings, computers, and other products in our homes.
Please donate so that we can continue to stop toxics and protect the health of our children, wildlife, and the planet.
In the News
PBS To the Contrary: Flame Retardants, (segment starts at 11:21) 20 April 2013
Washington Post, Flame retardants in consumer products are linked to health and cognitive problems, 15 April 2013
CNN, Safety of Flame Retardants in Question, 25 January 2013
Dr. Blum on NBC Nightly News--Sofas may contain harmful chemicals. Watch here. 9 Dec 2012
Read the press coverage of our study on flame retardants in couches at the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, and on the Scientific American blog. 28 Nov 2012
The Sunday New York Times Magazine article on our work reducing toxics for a healthier world is here. 9 Sept 2012
Arlene Blum, Executive Director of GSP, was chosen as one of the seven women featured in the "Women Who Should be Famous" Dove campaign to inspire young girls. Watch Here
The Chicago Tribune’s on-going investigative series
Playing with Fire.
New York Times, Nicholas Kristof op-ed, Are You Safe on that Sofa? 20 May 2012
CBS5 San Francisco ConsumerWatch, Berkeley scientist fights furniture flame retardants, 19 June 2012
GSP Successes
Working with NGOs and scientists worldwide, we just succeeded in stopping an international IEC standard, promoted by the chemical industry for the last decade, which would have required flame retardants in the cases around all the world's TVs.
Read more on the Non-Toxic TVs project page.
Following participation in a GSP workshop, the trade group for the business furniture industry (BIFMA) issued a position paper in support of the “Elimination of Fire Retardant Chemicals in Office Furniture Products.”
Read more on page 3 of their 2012 newsletter.
Featured Op-eds
Mobilizing scientists, industry, government and consumers to reduce toxics
