Chemical Flame Retardents.

For many years, several governmental agencies have required manufacturers of clothing for children and infants to be flame retardant. The thought was that if a fire should burn in a child's or infant's room, slowing down the rate at which the sheets and/or clothing ignited would reduce fatalities. There was also the concern that a person smoking near a child's crib or bed, might drop embers on the sheets or clothing, causing ignition. While certainly a good idea, manufacturers hated it because it represented one more complication and cost in the manufacturing process.

As early as the late 1970s, PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether) started showing up in food and tissues. By the late 1990s, huge increases of these chemicals were being detected in our food supply, and in mother's milk. There is no doubt that reducing the "ignitability" of children's clothing is a great idea! Burns to infants and children are life threatening and cause horrible burns and disfigurement. However, using chemicals that poison us to accomplish this noble task is not such a great idea.

While not meant to present a conclusive argument in favor or against use of such chemicals, the following three links are provided to give you some background on current discussions. You can form your own opinions as to the validity or seriousness of the use of these chemicals.

Article 1
Science News
"Burned by Flame Retardants?"
Copyright ©2004 Science Service. All rights reserved. (www.sciserv.org)
1719 N St., NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-785-2255 | scinews@sciserv.org

Article 2
Environmental News Network
"Flame-retardant chemical could prove as troublesome a pollutant as PCBs or DDT "
ENN is a registered trademark of the Environmental News Network Inc.
Copyright © 2004 Environmental News Network Inc. (www.enn.com)

Article 3
"New Toxic Chemicals Found in Breast Milk"
©Copyright 2003 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.mercola.com

Chemicals and the Kozy Kushion.

As stated above, we think that making products for infants and children flame resistant or retardant is a great idea. But we also think that there is a better way to accomplish this noble task. According the to the STATE OF CALIFORNIA, DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, BUREAU OF HOME FURNISHINGS (the group that regulates nursing cushions in Calif.), a nursing cushion falls under the heading of "Upholstered furniture", as follows:

"19006. "Upholstered furniture" means any furniture, including children's furniture, movable or stationary, which is made or sold with cushions or pillows, loose or attached, or is itself stuffed or filled in whole or in part with any material, is or can be stuffed or filled in whole or in part with any substance or material, hidden or concealed by fabric or any other covering, including cushions or pillows belonging to or forming a part thereof, together with the structural units, the filling material and its container and its covering which can be used as a support for the body of a human being, or his or her limbs and feet when sitting or resting in an upright or reclining position. This does not include furniture used exclusively for the purpose of physical fitness and exercise."

Each nursing cushion should have at least two specific tags on it. The first one is the stuffing license tag, or Law Tag, with the manufacturer's license number on it. This is the tag that starts "UNDER PENALTY OF LAW…". This tag also lists the materials used to make the cushion. The second tag is called the "FLAME Tag". This tag signified that the product meets the state and federal requirements for flame retarding or resisting. This tag is usually labeled or contains the phrase "BULLETING 117", or "TB117". You should NOT purchase any nursing cushion that does not have these two tags minimally. You may also find a manufacturing label and possibly a care tag on these products. The Kozy Kushion contains all four (4) tags.

The stuffing licenses and TB117 tags indicate that the product has been tested and meets the flame requirements of the various states (most states use the same regulations). The selection of materials is extremely important when it comes to flame resisting. Cushions that have a foam core with a cotton covering, generally do meet these flame resistance requirements without help. The help is provided by means of a flame retardant chemical coating. When you feel the surface of these products, they usually feel very course or stiff. This feeling is usually caused by the chemical coating applied to the product to meet the flame resistance requirements. Inquiries to both The Boppy Co. and Zenoff Products (My Brest Friend) were meet with the same basic answer. Neither company would divulge the exact chemical used for flame resistance. But both "were sure that is was not the chemical mentioned in the studies."

As stated above, the Kozy Kushion does NOT USE ANY CHEMICAL FLAME RETARDENT TRATEMENTS! We achieve the flame requirements by use of Polyester materials, which inherently meet these requirements. By selecting the proper materials in the first place, we do not have to add ANY of these retardant chemical treatments! Polyester is also more stain resistant that cotton and foam, and also more washable!

Unlike many of our competitive products, the Kozy Kushion is chemically safe to use. Since the entire cushion, cover and stuffing is made from polyester, no chemical treatments are needed! No chemicals to rub off on you or your baby. No chemical treatments to wash out into your other clothes. No one knows exactly how the chemical fire retardants used on other cushions will affect you or your baby. But at Discovery Innovations, we are not taking any chances with the health of you or your baby!