We read every food label. Filter the water. Buy organic.
But we sit in the same chair — all day, every day — and never once ask what it's made of.
The EPA found that Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors. And the furniture filling those spaces? Almost entirely unregulated.
Most office chairs contain PFAS. The same "forever chemicals" showing up in blood samples worldwide. PFAS coatings wear off within 7 to 9 months, transferring directly onto clothing and into the home.
Most wood-based desks contain formaldehyde…a known carcinogen that off-gasses quietly into the air around you. No warning. No label required.
And that shiny metallic coating on conventional furniture hardware? Often hexavalent chromium — Chrome 6 — the same chemical that's been found at unsafe levels in U.S. drinking water.
A furniture industry executive once defended the lack of ingredient disclosure by saying no one eats furniture.
What they didn't mention: you breathe it. And you touch it.
For years, I've been intentional about this. The chair in my office is from Humanscale. And that wasn't by accident. I've had this chair over 10 years - and I loved it so much, now my husband has one too.
Humanscale was the first company in the furniture industry to publicly disclose what goes into their products. Every ingredient, listed openly. Every product screened against the Living Building Challenge Red List, which is a registry of the most harmful chemicals in use today.
Here's what they've eliminated entirely:
- PFAS — removed from all products
- Hexavalent chromium (Chrome 6) — replaced across the supply chain
- Formaldehyde — the only furniture manufacturer to remove it from all tabletops
- PVC — eliminated completely
- Flame retardants and antimicrobial chemicals — gone
They don't just clean up what they can see. Humanscale traces materials back through the entire supply chain until they have the full recipe for every component.
When they find something harmful, they fix it. In one case, they convinced a supplier to switch coatings entirely which meant the change rippled out to every other product that supplier makes.
Now that’s accountability.
Humanscale also holds B Corp certification. The only major US brand in the commercial furniture industry to earn it.
In partnership alongside Patagonia, they launched an initiative to collect and transform discarded fishing nets into plastic pellets, which are then used in their Ocean chairs: Liberty Ocean, Smart Ocean, Freedom Ocean, and Path.
But maybe my favorite part? The chair’s design. Most office chairs require operating a series of controls just to recline. Humanscale engineered those controls out entirely, using your body weight and physics to move with you automatically. More movement. Better circulation. Less pain over time.
I notice the difference after a long day of work.
I love this company, and I am so happy that when my team asked for a discount for this community, they said yes!
For the next 48 hours, the Food Babe community saves 20% OFF Humanscale with code FOODBABE at checkout.
Xo,
Vani
P.S. Humanscale makes up only 4% of furniture industry revenue, yet accounts for over 38% of all publicly disclosed ingredient labels across the entire industry. That number tells you everything about what everyone else is hiding.
P.P.S. At Food Babe, we only promote products we love and use ourselves. If you buy a product we link to, we may earn a commission.
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