Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, is supporting the use of Green Chemistry to create safer, fire retarded polyurethane (PU) foams for the upholstery sector. Research by Green Urethanes Ltd, the provider of green solutions to the global PU industry, confirms that manufacturers can use reactive halogen-free flame retardant Exolit OP 560 with this technology to develop low emission flexible foams that meet internationally accepted flammability standards such as Cal TB 117 (California Technical Bulletin 117, a flammability test for upholstered furniture using a small flame).

In the furniture and bedding industries, large quantities of non-reactive flame retardants are traditionally used to achieve flame resistance for flexible foams. These flame retardants, which are merely physically mixed into the foam, can migrate out of the foam matrix and are associated with adverse environmental and health consequences. 

Green Urethane’s Technology is already available in the U.S. market and uses Natural Oil Polyols (NOP) to produce a range of standard foams for the North American bedding and furniture industries. These more natural foams are easier to produce, and provide better comfort and durability than petrochemical based foams. They have a total bio-renewable content of approximately 35 percent by weight.