Organohalogen and listed flame retardants
Also appears on labels as: pbde, pbdes, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, decabde, pentabde, octabde
Flame retardants built on chlorine or bromine (PBDEs, HBCD, TDCPP, TCEP and TCPP among them), and the others CertiPUR-US bars from the foam it certifies, such as TEPA, DMMP and antimony compounds.
Watched ingredients get highlighted on every product panel you open.
- Where it comes from
- Synthesized, then added to foam, fabric or plastic.
- Why it's in the product
- Slows ignition so the foam or fabric meets a flammability standard.
- Safety and toxicity
- In 2017 CPSC granted a petition and published guidance recommending that makers of children's products, upholstered furniture, mattresses and mattress pads not add non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants; the guidance isn't binding, and the class isn't banned. In a study of 78 cats aged 7 or older wearing silicone tags, levels of TDCIPP (also written TDCPP) were higher in cats that liked to spend time on upholstered furniture (Poutasse and colleagues, 2019), and an earlier study found PBDEs in all 23 cats tested (Dye and colleagues, 2007).
- Interactions and who should be careful
- "No flame retardants" is a claim, and a flame retardant the maker doesn't name reads as Undisclosed material. CertiPUR-US certified foam is made without the flame retardants on its list, and TCPP isn't on it.
General reference, not veterinary advice. Dose, breed, and existing conditions change the answer, so talk to your vet before changing what your pet eats. Think we got this wrong? Tell us and we log it publicly.
Not in anything we've scored yet
No product in our database lists this on its panel. That says more about how much we have scored so far than about how common the ingredient is.