This came up on another board I am on and I got blasted all over the place for "discounting" and "poohpooing" a mothers feelings about the chemicals. She was telling other parents that they needed to consult this report before ever considering a seat and that this was just as important as the safety of the seat. I kindly told her she could wash the seat cover of whatever seat she had and the problem would be eliminated. Apparently, that wasn't good enough so she was going to sell her "chemical laden Britax Marathon" for, I think, an Eddie Bauer that rated well on the chemical list. Sigh. Not that I think the Marathon is the be all end all, but geesh, why sell a perfectly good Marathon and go to something that will end up costing even more money, when you could just wash the cover? Bottom line, I think this whole thing has been blown WAY out of proportion.
see, i agree with most of what you are saying. i would NEVER sell a MA to get an Eddie Bauer whatever...b/c i do consider the SAFETY of the car seat (as in the crash tests etc. etc...safety in the sense of protection my child against death or serious bodily injury in a crash) to be paramount.
i just think that both of these issues can and should be explored. just as some ppl dont think there is any problem w/ BPA, i am pretty much of the opposite extreme. I like to know that something is safe (to the extent i can).
No one can guarantee anything is perfectly safe...and as pointed out the insides of most vehicles have a lot of chemicals in them (there is a Ford out there that is supposedly made w/ green foam or whatever now but i have other reasons for not ever wanting to buy a Ford so thats out for me).
Ppl will be extreme..and ppl will be complacent...and then there are ppl on one side of those and on the other side.....its really just a matter of whether you (general you) want to heed warnings...and in the area of petroleum products, drugs, and chemicals, im a pretty cautious person and will look at what it is vs. what our needs are (im certainly not typing on a vegan puter, for example). there are things that are easy to do (like not purchasing plastic toys)....and there are things that take more thought....i think its a good thing that ppl are concerned about the chemical composition and i would love to see car seat manufacturers take these things into consideration..and until consumers are aware, that wont happen.
someone on here always says that ALL car seats manufacturered are SAFE and pass safety tests. if thats true, it really doesnt matter what car seats parents purchase, does it? but maybe manufacturers will hear complaints and hear that ppl arent buying their seats SOLELY due ot their car seat covers. i think that would concern Britax alot. I actually am thinking of writing a letter to them about it, b/c i think they should be aware that parents are using this as a reason to stay away from their car seats (as ridiculous as *I* think that is).
im just trying to offer a different perspective and i believe both considerations should be contemplated prior to any purchase....and before anyone thinks i have an "environmentallly friendly" car seat, im pretty sure i don't. I have 2 BVs, one soon to be MA and an Olllie. I also have 2 TFs but they arent being used.