About Flame Retardancy and Organic Fibers.

FACE IT ... Anything not made of stone, is probably vulnerable to fire ... which is why fire codes, fire safety training, and state and federal flammability guidelines and regulations, have been developed and enforced over time.

STATE FIRE CODE DEFINITION:

"Combustible Fiber: Any readily ignitable and free-burning fiber including but not limited to materials such as cotton, sisal, henequen, ixtle, jute, hemp, tow, cocoa fiber, oakum, baled waste, baled waste paper, kapok, hay, straw, Spanish moss, excelsior, certain synthetic fibers and cloth in the form of scraps and clippings."

"Combustible fibers" discussed in state fire codes and regs, usually refers to large quantities of baled fiber in large storage areas. However, you can see that, as stated above, most materials of any kind can, and will, eventually burn to a crisp when exposed to relentless fire.

Fire retardancy refers to properties that prevent materials from BURSTING into flames. With conventional cotton and wool, that usually means health threatening chemical intervention. Organic wool, for example, meets most state and federal fire retardancy guidelines without toxic chemicals; but when exposed to direct and persistent fire, will not burst into flames ... but rather heat up and burn slowly, usually with a low blue flame.


Wool is a natural fire retardant, which is a great advantage for organic bedding. Woolen mattresses and blankets will not catch fire as easily as some synthetics. Synthetic fibers usually have to be treated with highly toxic fire retardants such as PBDE's to pass fire safety standards.    PBDE's have been banned in Europe because they are potentially carcinogenic.