Which is the Safest Non Toxic Baby Car Seat for Your Newborn?

PLEASE NOTE/ This article is currently being updated and is endeavoured to be completed by Dec 2021

There are so many car seats on the market, how do you choose the best non toxic car seat for your needs? Well that depends on your criteria.

Your criteria could be influenced by:

Cost
Safety ratings
Least toxic materials

And do you choose to get a capsule or otherwise known as an infant car seat? Or do you want a convertible car seat that is reversed and when your toddler gets tall enough, can be turned around and be forward facing?

In this post I will go through:

Pros and Cons of a Capsule vs Convertible Car Seat
Australian/New Zealand Law Requirements and Safety
Chemical Considerations for a Non Toxic Car Seat
Adverse Health Effects Associated with Flame Retardants
Scientific Literature Against Flame Retardant Effectiveness
Which companies Use Flame Retardants and Which Don’t for a Non Toxic Car Seat
PFAS and Stain Resistant Chemicals
Summary Table Outlining Major Brands, Average Costs & Toxic Substance/Material Claims
Company Response- Britax Safe-n-Sound, Baby Love, Steelcraft
Company Response- Safety 1^st, Mothers Choice, Maxi Cosi
Company Response- Infasecure

Pros and Cons of Capsule (Infant Car Seat) vs Convertible Car Seat

Benefits of Capsules

Leave a sleeping baby in a capsule once you have arrived at your destination (although this is not what is recommended by health professionals as the research indicates extended time in a capsule can decrease a baby’s oxygen levels).
Convenience of securing baby in the capsule in the house before leaving, particularly handy if there is inclement weather outside (as the capsule just clicks into place).
If you have more than one vehicle, transferring a capsule base is less cumbersome than transferring a whole car seat nor alternatively purchasing more than one capsule base.
May fit a smaller baby better. We borrowed my sister’s capsule to take our first two littles home from the hospital. Little Miss was fine however Little Master was not so easy. I had to sit in the back and hold his little head up. From what I have heard, and I am not sure if it is the baby shops trying to upsell or not, “capsules fit smaller babies better”. Comment or email me your experiences.

Cons of Capsules

Capsules are only suited for babies up to the weight of approx. 12kg and whilst some manufacturers will boast that their capsule is suitable up until the age of 12 months approximately, most babies reach the maximum height marker well before the 12 months. It really will depend on your baby as to when they reach this. For example, we were able to use our capsule with our first babe until 12 months. However with our third, by 4 months he had outgrown the height marker and moved into a rear facing car seat.
Research recommends parents should avoid long trips, and not let babies sit in the capsule for anything over an hour, as it can have negative cardiorespiratory effects. My maternal child and health nurse also reminded me not to leave our babe in the capsule for more than 20mins at our first baby health check.

Just keep in mind, either way at some point you are going to need to upgrade to a rear-facing baby car seat.

Australian/New Zealand Law Requirements and Safety

Australian Law requires car seats to meet the AS/NZS 1754 Australian/New Zealand Child Restraint Standard with the aim that they reduce the risk of bodily injury to a child passenger in the event of a motor vehicle impact.

A car restraint cannot be more than 10 years old (something to be mindful of if buying a restraint second hand).

The car restraint cannot have been involved in a crash/collision (in which case it is expected to be disposed of, and again something to be mindful of if buying a restraint second hand).

A car restraint cannot be imported from overseas, for example the USA and legally be used here in Australia, unless it meets and is tagged with the AS/NZ1754 standard. This is an interesting one and should be looked into further if travelling overseas. Of the course the exception to this rule is if the car restraint is coming from New Zealand.

The standard AS/NZS 1754 also stipulates that all restraints must pass a flame test to be passed and certified to the AS/NZS 1754 standard. Safety wise- RACV releases a yearly analysis of most infant and child car seats on the market testing them against safety. There has been mixed responses regarding the rating system as one cannot make a direct comparison with models from previous years. Unfortunately, it is out of the scope of this post to go into this however here is a link if you are interested in looking into this further. Keep in mind though that Australia has high safety standards and all car seats sold in the Australian market must meet this standard.

Chemical Considerations for a Non Toxic Car Seat

There are two main chemical cocktails potentially sprayed on infant and baby car seats in Australia:

-flame retardants

-stain restraint chemicals (PFAS)

Flame Retardants

Flame retardant materials, whether they are sprayed with flame retardants that are brominated, phosphate based, etc are required under United States and Australian/New Zealand Standards in child car seat restraints. If any foams are used in your child’s restraint it is highly likely they are sprayed with a flame retardant chemical.

Interestingly, a couple years back when I had my first babe, I know of people who imported their car seats from the USA as there was a car seat on the market that was produced without flame retardants. This was problematic from a legal point of view, as you could imagine.

Thankfully some manufacturers are listening to consumers and being more selective in the materials they use to manufacture their products, i.e. they are using ones that are naturally fire retardant. More on this later but first, do you really have to worry about flame retardants on your child’s car seat?

Well yes and you should be able to make an informed decision as to whether you want your baby’s car seat coated in such toxic chemicals. The reason being that children are exposed to flame retardants by:

breathing in the chemicals that leach out of the fabric and foam,
ingesting the dust which accumulates in vehicles when they touch it, or chew on the car seat itself (first time parents- yes this actually happens, one of my bubbas used to deliberating try to suck on the tightening strap!).

“New replacement flame retardants, often marketed as safer alternatives, are lurking in children’s products without rigorous safety testing and may pose risks for children’s health…”
Marta Venier, associate scientist at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs and principal investigator in the study Children’s Car Seats Contain Legacy and Novel Flame Retardants

Adverse Health Effects Associated with Flame Retardants

Flame retardants are not created equal, brominated, phosphate based, etc all range in whether they have been tested against human health impacts. Whilst manufacturers are making an effort to use ‘safer alternatives,’ new replacement alternative flame retardants haven’t undergone rigorous safety testing.

The scientific literature is not favourable towards any flame retardant chemical. When I contacted multiple manufacturers researching for this article, it was disappointing that one manufacturer tried to persuade me that they used a ‘safer’ non toxic flame retardant chemical and when I asked if I could see any evidence of that, scientific studies, the Material Safety Data Sheet… my question lay unanswered. My research into the said chemical was inconclusive regarding its safety (more on this later).

Bottom line- most flame retardants are known endocrine disrupting chemicals, developmental toxicants and have been linked to lower IQ, ADD and even cancer.

Scientific Literature Against Flame Retardant Effectiveness

But what happens if there is a fire, you ask. Well the science just doesn’t support the use of flame retardants as a way to protect its occupants either. In fact, research shows that materials sprayed with chemical flame retardants creates more toxic soot (smoke).

Which companies Use Flame Retardants and Which Don’t for a Non Toxic Car Seat

Well if a company uses materials that has fire resistant properties naturally than they do not have to add flame retardants to them. So as I mentioned above, I am pleased to reveal that over the past couple of years a couple of child car seat manufacturers and their subsidiaries have changed their fabrics so that they do not require any additional flame retardant chemicals added. The companies include:

Britax (and their subsidiaries Baby Love and Steelcraft)
Doral Australia (Safety 1^st, Mothers Choice and Maxi Cosi)

My research revealed that expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam is an impact-absorbing foam that does not require additional flame retardants. In fact, my research revealed that the above two major companies (and their subsidiaries) use injection moulded polypropylene plastic.

PFAS and Stain Resistant Chemicals

PFAS chemicals (stain resistant chemicals) on fabrics can easily enter the body through the skin and inhalation just like flame retardant chemicals. PFAS are highly persistent and hazardous chemicals that are inappropriate for child related products.

Whilst my research did not reveal any companies openly revealing they use stain resistant chemicals on their fabrics, The Ecology Centres (2018) study revealed that 50% of car seats tested likely contained PFAS chemicals on the fabric. The Ecology Centre periodically tests child car seats for flame retardants and PFAs chemicals, and whilst their report is conducted in the USA it would be great to see an independent study on Australian child car restraints.

non toxic car seat ratings from The Ecology Centres independent investigation — Summary of The Ecology Centre’s Independent Non Toxic Car Seat Report 2018

Summary Table Outlining Brands, Average Costs & Toxic Substance/Material Claims to Help You Choose a Non Toxic Car Seat for Your Baby and Child*

*Please note/ flame retardant and PFAS claims are based on current models only. If purchasing a second hand car seat or capsule these claims may not be accurate.

*Prices vary so wildly as each brand has multiple models. Individual models have different features which alter the price, e.g. five point harness, cup holders etc

Company Response- Britax Safe-n-Sound, Baby Love, Steelcraft

The company Britax manufactures Britax Safe-n-Sound, Baby Love and Steelcraft. Their car seats are all manufactured the same.

There are quite a few different materials used in their seats, in general, their injection moulded seats are predominately moulding in Polypropylene.
They do not use any PVC products in the manufacturing of their car seats.
They do not use flame retardants, typically bromine, in their covers.
Materials used in their child restraints are synthetic and are inherently flame retardant so they don’t need additional flame retardants to meet the standard.
They do not use stain resistance chemicals on their child restraints.

Company Response- Safety 1^st, Mothers Choice, Maxi Cosi

The company Dorel Australia looks after Mothers Choice, Safety 1st and Maxi Cosi. Their “seats are all manufactured the same and the same for the fabrics under the Australian Standard”.

The seat is made up of a Polypropylene plastic.
None of their fabrics or car seat shells are treated with flame retardant additives.
The shells have had a UV treatment added to extend durability in hot climates such as Australia.
Fabrics are treated with a Natural Antibacterial Protection.
The Natural Antibacterial Protection is an Agion Treatment which uses Silver ions as a natural antimicrobial element.
The Natural Antibacterial Protection treatment meets the Oeko Tek Standard 100.
They do not treat any of their fabrics with any chemicals such as Scotch Guard.

Company Response- Infasecure

InfaSecure uses a flame retardant that is a “non-toxic ammonium polyphosphate compound”.

I really wanted to love Infasecure because they are a 100% Aussie family owned company. Unfortunately, they do use the flame retardant ammonium polyphosphate (APP).

Ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was first developed by Monsanto in the USA and trades under multiple names. Ammonium polyphosphate is a halogen-free flame retardant and Infasecure expressed that it is non-toxic.

However a GreenScreen assessment of the scientific literature of APP in 2014 (and updated in 2016) reported that despite issuing a low score for potential toxicity to mammals and aquatic life,

it was a skin irritant,
found to be highly persistent in the environment,
there were data gaps (no data located/research ever conducted) and
the research that was available was often of poor quality from which GreenScreen made its judgements on.

GreenScreen reported that if the data gaps were found to be of high or very high significance their level of concern of APP would drastically change. Sounds to me like the evidence isn’t complete and for my family, I personally wouldn’t accept this since there are safer more non toxic car seats on the market from which to choose from.

Company Response- Nuna

All Nuna products are designed in the Netherlands and manufactured in China. Nuna also manufacture baby capsules for other brands such as Bugaboo and Stokke (Bugaboo Turtle and Stokke Pipa for example).

Car seats are made out of a combination of polyester fabric, PU + EVA handles, nylon straps, and polypropylene and aluminium parts.
Nuna car seats are not flame retardant free.
The parts of the car seat that contain flame retardants do not touch the child’s skin (e.g. back, inside, etc).

It was disappointing to see another manufacturing using flame retardant chemicals on a product that is designed to be used by children. Even though Nuna state that the chemicals are not applied to materials directly on the surface of the car seat, flame retardant chemicals have shown to migrate out of the fabrics and effect the occupants in the space. Reread the body of the post for clarity on this. Nuna declined to answer which flame retardant chemical they use.

Despite enquiring about whether any other chemicals were used on Nuna care seats the question was not answered.

So there you have it. If I receive any further information that will assist you in finding a non toxic car seat for your child, I will update the post. If you have any feedback or information regarding non toxic car seats for children, please get in touch. In the meantime, I hope this helps you make a more informed choice on the car seat you purchase.

If you are interested in sourcing other Low Tox products for children or family, then head to my faves– a list of products and services I use and have vetted.

XxTammy

Building Biologist Melbourne

Sources

Johnston, P. (2016) Are baby car seats safe for newborns? (online) available: https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2016/12/13/4591670.htm (date accessed Dec 2020)

Nadalin, T. (2020) Not all car seats are created equal. These are Australia’s safest baby, toddler and child car seats for 2020 (online) available: https://www.racv.com.au/royalauto/moving/news-information/safest-child-car-seats-exp.html?adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D7B750857C6915898-16D5B97C87B5860C%7CMCORGID%3D52A10C3A53DB24890A490D4D%40AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1607141884&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com (date accessed Dec 2020)

Indiana University (2018) Toxic flame retardants are in children’s car seats (online) available: ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 December 2018 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181203080322.htm (date accessed Dec 2020)

The Ecology Centre (2016) Children’s car seat study 2016 (online) available: https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/reports/childrens-car-seats-2016 (date accessed Dec 2020)

Center for Environmental Health (2018) New Study Reveals Toxic Chemicals in Vast Majority of Children’s Car Seats (online) available: https://www.ceh.org/latest/press-releases/new-study-reveals-toxic-chemicals-in-vast-majority-of-childrens-car-seats/ (date accessed Dec 2020)

Healthy Stuff, (2020) Peer-reviewed publication: Use and fate of PFAS treatment in children’s car seats (online) available: https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/reports/investigation-use-and-fate-pfas-treatment-childrens-car-seats (date accessed Dec 2020)