Responsible Value Chain

The Chicco Sustainable Parenting Initiative is our commitment to act responsibly, respecting people and the environment, with an outlook to future generations. As part of this initiative, we developed the ClearTex^® line of car seats that meet federal flammability standards without the addition of fire-retardant chemicals. With this development, we wanted independent, accredited, third-party validation to ensure that chemicals of high concern, like fire retardants and stain- or water-repellents, were not present in our line of ClearTex car seats. Chicco partnered with the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) to identify chemicals in juvenile car seats.

The team at CCMR used advanced research-grade analytical techniques to identify the presence of chlorine, bromine, phosphorous, and fluorine on each component of our ClearTex^® car seats. Chlorine, bromine, and phosphorous are commonly used in flame retardant treatments. Fluorine is the basis for many stain- and water-repellent treatments, like PFAS. Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the fiber type. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) were used to image and identify chemicals on the surface of materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to build the structure of the compound found on the surface.

Through this laboratory analysis, ClearTex materials - including fabrics, foams, and labels - were found to have no additional chemicals present, including fire retardant and water- or stain-repellent chemicals. To learn more about the project, click here. This work made use of the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities which are supported through the NSF MRSEC program (DMR-1719875).