Most car seats and vehicle interiors are made in developing countries and China. Raw materials are not consistant or well controlled so even test results reported today does not mean that the next shipment is going to measure the same. Vehicle interiors are potentially just as bad or worse and will outgass over time. Wiping down surfaces with soap and water even when new will help remove oils and plastic mold release agents that will possibly transfer contaminants to the baby.

That new car smell is generally not so healthy...

I understand the concern, but how long is a child sitting in a carseat? The exposure has to be minimal. btw, can't the U.S. make anything anymore or are we destined to be an invalid when it comes to manufacturing.

I know we had issues with our U.S. products, but it seems that everything manufactured in China is suspicious until proven otherwise. Nice to have cheap products, but those guys won't be proactive in producing safe products until the consumer protests or something malfunctions.

So your new born baby is safe, passed the flamethrower test and fire proof, but they become an idiot and you tried to blame the Chinese for following the specification that given by the US company that did not doing the proper quality control for their product.

My question doesn't have any connection to car seats, but after reading the article I wondered . . . .

Out of curiousity - How many of these same chemicals were added to cigarettes at the behest of the government in order to make them less likely to start a fire by extinguishing themselves more easily? Every pack is required to have the 'FSC' stamp on it.

Does this apply to all flame retardant materials or is it just child restraint systems? Very curious. Anyone out there want to share with the rest of us???????

Knowledge is power