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Are you an eco-friendly parent? Do you worry about how to furnish your child’s room without harming their health and the environment?
Many conventional children’s furniture items are made with toxic materials that can cause respiratory problems and other health issues…and wreak havoc on the environment!
So, before you go out and buy the first thing that catches your eye, consider switching to non-toxic children’s furniture.
My girls are long past their tree-hugging dad picking their furniture for them, but when they were growing up, I was obsessed with the furniture choices for their rooms.
Read on, and I’ll share everything I learned...
Later in this article, I’ll discuss what to look for in your child’s bedroom furniture.
But first, I’ll cut to the chase and reveal the best pieces I tested.
✔ GREENGUARD Gold Certified
✔ TSCA-Compliant MDF
✔ Sustainable New Zealand Pine
They Say: The Babyletto Lolly 6 Drawer Double Dresser has enough space for all your babe’s stuff and enough style for your decor. It features natural accents and six drawers of storage, making it more than a pretty face.
We Say: If you’re looking for a stylish and functional non-toxic dresser for your nursery, look no further than the Babyletto Lolly 6 Drawer Double Dresser.
This piece is made with high-quality materials and features an elegant design that looks great in any room.
It also has plenty of storage space to keep all your baby’s essentials organized, and the included anti-tip kit provides an extra layer of safety.
Plus, with its GREENGUARD Gold certification, you can rest easy knowing that this dresser is safe for your baby and the environment.
I love the combination of sustainable New Zealand pine and TSCA-compliant MDF. I would usually steer clear of MDF, but the fact that the TSCA and GREENGUARD Gold certify this product means it’s fully non-toxic.
This is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a beautiful and functional nursery furniture piece that will grow with your child.
The quality of the pine used is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Once your bumble of joy is old enough to develop their style and tastes, you could easily sand and repaint it to suit their needs/wants.
All this combined means it gets the nod as my overall winner.
I love it. I reckon you will too!
✔ GREENGUARD Gold Certified
✔ FSC-Certified Wood
✔ Stain Resistant & Water Repellant
They Say: This rocker is offered in several high-quality upholstery choices and boasts hardwood legs, light padding, and a removable lumbar pillow. We love all the color and finish combinations in which the Sleepytime Rocker is available, letting you choose the perfect chair for your child’s room. You’ll love rocking your kiddo to sleep in this modern nursery chair!
We Say: The Nursery Works Sleepytime Rocker is another high-quality piece of nursery furniture that will serve your child for many years.
When they’re a babe in your arms, you’ll be able to spend many happy hours feeding and rocking them to sleep.
When they’re a toddler, you’ll make some special memories reading them their favorite stories while gently rocking back and forth.
Finally, this super comfy chair will be their ’go-to’ spot for chilling, napping, and reading their favorite books as they get older.
It’s stylish and modern, with a structured and padded square back design that sits upon elegantly curved ash hardwood legs. It also includes a removable lumbar cushion for added comfort.
This rocker chair is available in several high-quality upholstery choices, including smooth vegan leather, subtly textured boucle fabric, ultra-soft velvet fabric, or eco-performance fabric.
The Performance Grey Eco-Weave with Walnut Legs option is the one I tested, and I was suitably impressed.
The fabric is super soft and made from at least 30 recycled plastic bottles and at least 30% REPREVE® recycled polyester yarn.
The foam padding in the seat cushion is incredibly soft. I could sit in this rocker for hours. I MIGHT have even fallen asleep in it…multiple times! ????
The foam doesn’t just have comfort going for it. It’s CertiPUR-US certified and meets all CA TB117-2013 flammability requirements.
The wood used in the frame of the rocker is FSC certified and comes from well-managed forests.
It was a breeze to assemble with no tools required and has a weight capacity of 300 lbs.
You and your child will love this rocker! It’s stylish, comfortable, and built to last a lifetime!
✔ Proudly American Made
✔ Solid Wood
✔ Offset Carbon Emissions
They Say: Houston, we have lift off. DREAM BIG on the UB Rocket Bed. Handcrafted from solid, all-natural timber and designed with love. Available in both toddler and twin sizes.
We Say: This bed could have made it onto the list just because it’s AMAZING, and six-year-old James would have utterly loved it!
However, it made it onto the list because it’s amazing, AND its eco-credentials are also pretty darn good!
This bed is made in America from all-natural wood, and it’s designed with safety in mind.
It’s sanded smooth and sealed with a finish derived from a mineral spirit and beeswax. It’s durable, cleanable, and has 0% VOC (volatile organic compounds).
The simple nature of the design means it will last your child for years. They can customize it with stickers or even give it a brand-new paint job!
The super cool headboard comes fully assembled. The frame (available in toddler, twin, or full) comes ready to assemble. I tested the toddler bed, and it only took around 20 minutes to build it.
Nathan, the owner of UrbanBilly, takes pride in sourcing local, sustainable materials for all his products. He says, “we only use materials that are good for you and the land we live on.”
Shipping is free to most U.S. zip codes, and Etsy will offset the carbon emissions from delivery and packaging for this purchase.
Etsy Purchase Protection also covers your order, so you can buy with confidence, safe in the knowledge that Etsy will help you get things sorted if:
What’s not to love about a marketplace that offers carbon emission offsetting and purchase protection, all at no extra cost?
I wanted to get a study desk onto the list but couldn’t quite find the room because the top three listed above were just so good.
However, I do want to quickly give a shout-out to the excellent range over at Maxtrix Kids.
They even have a handy study desk buyer’s guide to help you pick the right one.
No child’s bedroom is complete without an eco-friendly bean bag chair.
There are some great organic, non-toxic, and eco-friendly options that can add a finishing touch to your child's bedroom.
Chances are it'll even become the most used piece of furniture in the room!
The best non-toxic choices are solid wood furniture or solid wood veneers (which usually means plywood).
Avoid particleboard and most other engineered woods, as they often contain formaldehyde or other toxic glues.
Non-toxic and chemical-free metal can also be a good choice, but solid wood furniture almost always gets my vote ahead of metal.
You can read more about my thoughts on metal and wood used in furniture in my Metal vs Wooden Bed Frame article.
It’s also important to consider the finishes (paint, stainer, etc.) applied to the furniture.
Many standard paints and stainers contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds slowly off-gas into the air and are breathed in.
To avoid potential respiratory issues, it’s always best to go for non-toxic & zero-VOC paint options.
Trusted and respected 3rd party eco-certifications give you added peace of mind that the kids furniture you’re buying is eco-friendly and non-toxic.
Some of the best to look out for include:
Check out our eco-certifications guide for more information on all of the above.
While we don’t want to sacrifice style when it comes to our children’s room, we should also make sure that safety and comfort are thought about too.
So when you’re buying furniture for your child’s bedroom, look for things like:
When buying children’s furniture, it’s also essential to consider the country where it was made.
Buying furniture manufactured in the U.S. helps ensure that materials are sourced locally and that strict standards have been followed.
Furniture manufacturers in Canada and Europe also have to adhere to strict standards.
Be careful when buying low-cost furniture from places such as China, where manufacturing standards and rules are more relaxed.
When buying children’s bedroom furniture like beds, dressers, and desks, ensure you get the right size.
You should also consider how much space is available in the bedroom.
Avoid buying furniture that is too large for the space, as it will make the room feel oppressive.
Of course, shopping around for the best deals on non-toxic furniture is always a good idea.
But remember that sustainable products are often more expensive than their mass-produced rivals, so you might have to stretch your budget as far as you can.
Be mindful of products that use toxic chemicals to meet federal requirements.
For example, steer clear of chemical flame retardants and look for more natural solutions to the problem (like ethically sourced wool).
To create a genuinely non-toxic bedroom for your children, you might not want to stop at just non-toxic furniture.
From a non-toxic bed frame to a cozy organic pair of PJs, there’s so much more you can do:
One final key consideration when creating a non-toxic kids room is improving indoor air quality to create a healthy environment for sleep.
You can do this by incorporating things such as:
Solid wood is created by harvesting a single piece of wood and cutting it down into smaller pieces.
On the other hand, engineered wood (medium-density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, plywood, chipboard, etc.) is created using smaller pieces of wood that are glued together.
Products made from these types of wood may be toxic.
Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals, as their immune systems and organ functions are still developing. Therefore, choosing non-toxic furniture for children that is free from potentially harmful chemicals is vital.
Yes, if your budget can stretch to it, solid maple wood is an excellent option (when sourced ethically and sustainably).
This depends on several factors, including the materials used to make the bunk bed, whether safety rails have been properly installed, and whether your child will be allowed to play on or around the bunk bed when unsupervised.
That said, choosing high-quality bunk beds made from non-toxic materials can help ensure they’re both safe and healthy for your child.
When it comes to children’s furniture, there are a lot of things to consider, and I hope this article has helped you figure out what to look for and what to avoid!
With a little mindful searching, you can easily find safe, stylish, and sustainable pieces that will last for years.
Where do you buy your non-toxic kids furniture? Have I missed your favorite brand? Do you need help sourcing a specific piece?
Do you prefer solid wood nursery furniture? Or is reclaimed/recycled metal more your thing? Do you have any killer tips for creating a healthy environment for your children to sleep and play in? Drop me a line and let me know.
Our core values mean we always prioritize sustainability over profit. We carefully evaluate and personally test every product to ensure they meet our high standards. All products recommended in this article were tested in accordance with our Review Methodology.
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