I have been focusing on detoxing my life and ensuring that anything new I bring into our home is as eco-friendly and non-toxic as possible. (Such as an eco-friendly sofa.) Environmental toxins, including ones that you unknowingly bring into your home, can negatively impact your well-being. These chemicals have been shown through peer-reviewed research to impact your health negatively. In addition, most research is done on individual chemicals, whereas furniture and other home goods may contain more than one, potentially compounding the negative impact.
I have wanted new non-toxic sofas for years, one of them, in particular, started ripping at the seams, but I’m glad I waited. Since starting my Masters of Science in Nutrition, I have learned a lot about toxins and have continued my own research into unhealthy chemicals that are often incorporated into household items, including furniture.
what is the best non-toxic sofa?
The best non-toxic sofa is one that is free from added chemicals such as flame-retardants. Flame retardants can include one or more toxic chemicals. Some of the most common are organophosphate, hexabromocyclododecane, and brominated flame retardants. (Say that five times fast.) Individually, these chemicals are associated with adverse health effects. Also, I don’t know about you, but why does furniture contain ‘ingredients’? This is why I went searching for flame-retardant-free, eco-friendly sofas – bonus points for being vegan!
What is the best eco-friendly sofa?
When thinking about making more sustainable choices, proximity can make a huge impact. You can imagine the environmental resources it takes to get a sofa to you from China versus North Carolina. (Unless you live in China, then yes, buying a Chinese-made sofa makes more sense.) I searched the internet and soon realized that sofas that are handmade, in America, with real wood, and are flame-retardant-free are few and far between.
Where can I find a non-toxic couch?
I was incredibly delighted when I came across Maiden Home, an environmentally conscious company based in New York that makes handcrafted furniture. Their eco-friendly sofas are made from responsibly sourced hardwoods, springs from recycled steel, renewable soy-based foam cushions, and high-quality fabrics. Maiden Home doesn’t use any flame retardants, formaldehyde, or other harmful chemicals, ensuring that their furniture is non-toxic. Amen. Also, they have tons of stunning vegan fabric options, which is important to me.
The Irving sofa really spoke to me. I love its clean lines with a touch of masculinity. Once on The Irving page, I tried out different fabrics, stain colors, and sofa lengths. You can essentially build your eco-friendly couch in front of your eyes, with each fabric type and color you try out, the image of the sofa on the screen changes to match your choices. This is really helpful, not to mention cool.
Where can I buy an eco-friendly couch
I ordered a number of their free swatches to hold up in our living room in different lighting moments that occur throughout the day. If you have pets, I recommend you rub the fabric swatches on them to see which ones pick up the least amount of fur and which ones hide it the best. I went with a longer 90″ sofa, upholstered in Performance Washed Linen in the color Fog with a Walnut finish on the legs. After ordering my eco-friendly sofa, I received update emails along the way letting me know where they were in the production process. This gave the experience a nice personal touch.
The delivery was seamless; they unwrapped my non-toxic couch, brought them into our living room, placed them in exactly the right spot, and then headed out. They also took all of the shipping materials with them, so I didn’t have to worry about recycling them. I can just imagine the sight of me trying to wrangle all of it into our recycling bins!
Jon and I both love our Maiden Home, eco-friendly sofas, and unfortunately, our dogs do too. (They aren’t allowed on them, however, they sneak a snooze every once in a while when we leave the room.) They are so comfortable, sturdy, and stunning. The cushions are firm-ish with a delightful amount of give.
Maiden Home is really the only furniture brand whose sofas really check all of my boxes when it comes to being environmentally friendly, sustainably made, and with vegan material options. I am incredibly thankful I came across them on good old Google and that we were able to partner together on this non-toxic sofa blog post.
If you’re thinking about re-doing an entire room in your house, you’d probably like this Eco-Friendly Living Room Makeover blog post.
*The Irving received a makeover and was renamed “The Crosby”. It has the same wonderful cushions, comfort, and support making for a wonderfully comfy sustainable sofa. The only difference is The Crosby has taller arms making for a slightly different look.
*Thanks Kayleigh from Wild Kind Photography for capturing these photos.
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