Welcome to LIME's Organic Living blog, where organic lifestyle expert Eliza Sarasohn - author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organic Living - tackles your questions on the ins and outs of living la vida organica. This week, Sarasohn talks about how to steer clear of toxins when making furniture purchases. 

The simplest way to avoid toxins like formaldehyde and PBDEs is to buy furniture made from materials that don’t contain them.

Pieces made from metal or glass carry few concerns, as both are inert materials which don’t offgas. Solid wood furniture ranks right up there, too. However, keep in mind that the products used to paint or finish wood and metal can contain VOCs. As such, wood, metal and glass furniture is not necessarily completely problem-free. (They would be, though, if you finished them yourself with toxin-free stain, paint or finishes.)

When shopping, keep an eye out for products made from or containing the following, and avoid them if at all possible:

• Upholstery marked as stain resistant. Teflon is the product most often used to make fabrics stain resistant. Teflon contains perflurorchemicals (PFCs), which can break down into a toxic blood contaminant called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. There’s been some back and forth about whether fabric treatments and the like release a dangerous amount of PFOA, but in the research done on this substance, Enviroblog, a project of EWG’s Action Fund, reports that over 90 percent of Americans are showing PFOA in their blood, making it a prudent choice to limit your exposure to PFOA as much as possible.

• Inflatable furniture, artificial leather and vinyl furniture covers. All can contain phthalate-based PVC.

• Furniture made from manufactured wood products — particleboard, fiberboard, plywood — all of which can contain formaldehyde glues.

Instead, opt for organic in upholostered or filled pieces, consider furniture made from bamboo. (typically grown with few to no pesticides), buy local/artisan or shop vintage to be sure you're getting a good green deal.

There’s also an eco-friendly certification to consider when you’re shopping for wood furniture. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international non-profit that encourages sustainable forestry, offers FSC certification to companies that harvest wood in accordance to FSC’s requirements. Products made from FSC-certified wood can also carry the FSC label.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organic Living by Eliza Sarasohn with Sonia Weiss.