Cold Foam in IKEA Furniture

Furniture
Written by Debra Lynn Dadd

August 11, 2015 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Suzanne

Hi Debra,

Thanks again for your wonderful website, books and resources. 

I am looking at an office chair at IKEA, the GREGOR swivel chair. The product description says the seat cushion is made of "high Resilient polyurethane foam ( Cold foam)". Do you know what that is and is it safe?
Thank you

Debra's Answer

Polyurethane foams come in a number of different types.

High Resiliency Cold Foaming process is used today in the manufacture of molded flexible foams.

It's still polyurethane foam, which is made from toxic chemicals.

I love to shop at IKEA. Many chairs I would have liked to purchase, but I never purchase anything made from polyurethane foam.

Toxic-Free Q&A

These are archives of Q&A asked by readers and answered by Debra Lynn Dadd (from 2005-2019) or Lisa Powers (from 2019-2020). Answers have been edited and updated as of December, 2020.

Debra Lynn Dadd