Pack and Plays Without Flame Retardants: What the Makers Say, and the Closest Picks (2026)
The 30 Second Summary
- The pad in a pack and play has never had to pass a fire test. Federal mattress rules exclude playpen pads, California dropped play yards from its furniture fire rule in 2014, and it has banned flame retardants above 1,000 ppm in new play yards since 2020.
- The treated era was real. In 2011, 11 of 13 portable crib mattresses tested carried a flame retardant. When California tested five play yards in 2018, none had one at a level that suggests it was added.
- PFAS is the open question. Nobody has published a PFAS test of a play yard's own fabric or pad, and a waterproof play yard sheet read 240 ppm fluorine in 2022.
- No play yard meets our standard yet, because no maker publishes a certificate we could verify and no lab has tested a current model.
- The closest are the Guava Lotus Travel Crib and the Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go. Each maker denies flame retardants in the whole play yard, fabric and pad. Neither publishes a PFAS statement.
- Use only the pad that came with it. Thicker replacement mattresses have drawn 18 federal recalls and warnings since late 2023, for gaps a baby can get trapped in.
Why Play Yards Had Flame Retardants
A play yard is a frame, mesh walls and a thin foam pad on a board. For years that foam was treated, because California's furniture fire rule reached juvenile foam products and makers sold one version nationwide. When Duke researchers took foam from 101 baby products in 2011, 80 contained a flame retardant, and so did 11 of the 13 portable crib mattresses among them: chlorinated tris, Firemaster 550, an old brominated mixture called pentaBDE. California's own testers later put treated foam at four to five percent flame retardant by weight.
None of it was required by federal law. The federal mattress fire standards exclude playpen pads by name, and the federal play yard standard has no fire test at all. In 2014 California dropped play yards and playpen side pads from its furniture rule, and in 2020 it banned flame retardants above 1,000 ppm in new ones. A baby sleeps face down on that pad, in the warm air just above it, and puts hands to mouth all day, which is why it is worth asking what is in it now.
What Testing Found
The newest lab data on a play yard pad comes from California's Department of Toxic Substances Control, which bought 21 children's foam sleeping products in 2018, five of them play yards: a Graco Pack 'n Play, a Chicco FastAsleep Go, a Cosco Funsport, a Foundations SleepFresh and a Costway soft sided crib. Its January 2019 report found chlorinated tris (TDCPP) and TCEP at no level that suggests they were added, in any of the 21. The four products near or over 1,000 ppm of some other flame retardant were a bassinet, a cot, a nap mat and a pillow, not a play yard.
That is the good news, with two limits. It is eight years old, and it measured flame retardants, not PFAS. Nobody has published a PFAS test of a play yard's own fabric or pad that we could find. The closest is a sheet: in 2022 EWG found 240 ppm total fluorine and 21 individual PFAS in Graco's Quick Connect waterproof play yard sheets, and Toxic-Free Future found PFAS in 34 of 47 children's products sold as stain or water resistant. Waterproofing is where PFAS goes.
| Study | What was tested | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| Duke University, 2011 | Foam from 101 baby products, 13 of them portable crib mattresses | A flame retardant in 80 products and in 11 of the 13 portable crib mattresses |
| California DTSC, 2018 | 21 children's foam sleeping products, 5 of them play yards | No added TDCPP or TCEP in any; no play yard near 1,000 ppm of any flame retardant measured |
| Toxic-Free Future, 2022 | 60 children's and home products, including a play yard sheet | PFAS in 34 of 47 sold as stain or water resistant; a Joovy play yard sheet read 11 ppm |
| EWG, 2022 | 34 baby and children's textiles | Fluorine in all 34; Graco's waterproof play yard sheet 240 ppm with 21 PFAS |
Where the Chemicals Sit in a Play Yard
The pad. The floor of most play yards is polyurethane foam, sometimes with polyester batting, glued or sleeved over a hinged board. This is where flame retardants sat, and where a claim has to reach. Many makers say "our fabrics" are free of flame retardants, which leaves the pad out. A few skip polyurethane foam altogether, for air mesh or polyester batting.
The cover. A pad sold as waterproof or water resistant has a coating or a film, and most makers do not name it. That finish is where PFAS would sit, so a waterproof pad needs a named PFAS free finish to be as good as a plain one. Graco's standard pads are polyester over foam and are not waterproof at all. The rails are padded fabric over plastic, and a baby who can stand will chew the top one. The frame, hubs and latches are steel, aluminum and plastic in every play yard sold.
What the Law Covers
California's AB 2998 names the playard and the playpen side pad among the juvenile products that cannot contain more than 1,000 ppm of flame retardant chemicals, from January 2020. Massachusetts covers play yards too. California's PFAS law bans intentionally added PFAS, or 100 ppm of total organic fluorine, in play yards and soft sided portable cribs from July 2023, and Colorado, Minnesota, Maine and Vermont name play yards in their own PFAS bans, the last two from January 2026.
Those laws set a floor. A 1,000 ppm threshold still allows a treatment below it, a PFAS ban rests on the maker's word unless a state tests, and none of them reaches a play yard made before its date, which matters for the many sold secondhand. In 2017 the federal safety commission asked makers of children's products and mattress pads not to add organohalogen flame retardants, but that guidance binds no one, and there is no federal limit on either chemistry in a play yard.
Reading a Play Yard Claim
Three questions sort the claims. Does the flame retardant statement name the pad as well as the fabric? Does the maker say anything about PFAS, and does it name the waterproof finish if there is one? And has anyone independent checked it? A maker's own chemical filing with Washington, Oregon or Vermont is worth a look, because it is a legal disclosure rather than marketing, and two makers' play pen filings say something different from what a shopper reads on the box.
Checking a claim takes a certificate that tests the finished product, such as OEKO-TEX Standard 100, GOTS or MADE SAFE, with a number you can look up, or an independent lab result under three years old. No play yard maker we researched has one we could verify; the one OEKO-TEX number printed on a travel crib page has expired. GREENGUARD Gold, which several play yard makers hold, measures what a product releases into the air, not what is in the foam or fabric.
Wondering about the play yard you already own? Type the brand into our free Product Check to see what we know about its pad, its fabric, its recalls and its lawsuits.
The Big Brands at a Glance
Fifteen play yard brands, grouped by what the maker states. The flame retardant column asks whether the maker denies them in the fabric and the pad. The PFAS column asks whether the maker calls its play yards PFAS free. The testing column shows only what independent labs found, because a company statement is not proof. Recalls cover play yards since 2021. The order within a group is not a ranking.
| Brand | No flame retardants, fabric and pad? | PFAS free? | Independent testing | Play yard recalls since 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denies flame retardants in the whole play yard | ||||
Guava Family Lotus Travel Crib | Yes, whole crib | No claimWaterproof cover not named | Not tested | None |
Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go, Travel Dome LX, Day2Dream | Yes, since 2014Fabric and pad | Internal list onlyNot published | ExpiredNo added TDCPP or TCEP, 2018 | None |
Chicco Alfa Lite, Dash, Lullaby | ContradictedOwn filing names one in play pen fabric | YesAlfa Lite and Dash | ExpiredFastAsleep Go, 2018 | None |
| Denies them in part | ||||
Nuna SENA aire, PAAL | Fabric only | No claim | Not tested | None |
Delta Children Jeep Horizon, Hexagon, Hex-Lite | Partly"Toxic" ones, no part named | No claim | Not tested | None |
Newton Baby Compact, Deluxe Travel Crib | Pad onlyA built in one disclosed in 2020 | No claim | FlaggedCrib mattress core, 2020 | None |
Joovy Room2, Room | SecondhandA 2018 survey answer | No claim | Not testedIts sheet read 11 ppm, 2022 | None |
| No play yard claim | ||||
UPPAbaby Remi, Remi V2 | NoCar seats only | No claim | Not tested | None |
Bugaboo Stardust | No claim | No claim | Not tested | None |
BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light | No claim | No claim | LapsedOEKO-TEX certificate expired | None |
Maxi-Cosi Swift, Calao | NoCar seats only | No claim | Not tested | None |
Baby Trend Lil Snooze, Nursery Center | Declines to say | No claim | Not tested | None |
Dream On Me Zodiak, Nest, Travel Light | No claim | No claim | Not tested | None |
Pamo Babe 4 in 1, Travel Crib | No claim | No claim | Not tested | None |
| Maker filing names a flame retardant | ||||
Evenflo Portable BabySuite, Play-Away | FiledIn play pen fabric, models named | No claim | Not tested | NoneNine car seat recalls |
The Closest We Found
No play yard meets our standard yet. It asks three things: the maker states that the fabric and the pad carry no added flame retardants and that the play yard is PFAS free; a certificate that tests the finished product, or an independent test from the last three years, backs that up; and the model carries no open recall. The two below come closest. Each maker denies flame retardants in the whole play yard, its own filings do not contradict it, and owners rate both highly. Neither has a PFAS statement or the proof, so we name what each is missing.
Guava Lotus Travel Crib
Mesh walls, a side zip door and a padded floor mattress on a frame that packs into a backpack. Guava states no flame retardants anywhere in the crib. GREENGUARD Gold only; no PFAS statement.
View →
Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go Playard
Polyester fabric and mesh, a polyester covered foam pad on fiberboard with no waterproof layer, and a full size bassinet. Graco states no added flame retardants since 2014. No certificate.
View →Guava Lotus, for travel
Guava's product page lists no flame retardants among what is not in the Lotus, and its comparison page says the crib meets flammability standards without any chemical flame retardants. That covers the whole crib rather than the fabric alone, the most complete flame retardant statement any play yard maker gives. It weighs about 15 pounds with its backpack, opens with a side door a toddler can climb through, and owners on Guava's own site rate it 4.85 from 1,589 reviews.
What is missing is the rest of the claim. Guava never names the fabric fiber, the mattress core or the material that makes its mattress cover waterproof, and no Guava page mentions PFAS, so the one place PFAS could sit is the one part it does not describe. Its only certificate is GREENGUARD Gold, an emissions test. The mattress rests on the floor, so a newborn means bending down; a raised bassinet is listed but not currently sold. Guava's one recall, for brakes on its Roam stroller in 2024, does not touch the crib.
Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go, for home
Graco's help center says every Pack 'n Play playard made since January 1, 2014 is made without added flame retardant chemicals. That is a fabric and pad statement for the whole line, and it fits the record: Graco's 2013 Washington filing reported a brominated flame retardant in play pen fabric, and California found no added TDCPP or TCEP in a Pack 'n Play in 2018. The pad is polyester over foam and batting on fiberboard, with no waterproof layer. Owners at Target rate the On the Go 4.6 from 1,296 reviews.
What is missing is a PFAS statement anyone can read. Graco's consumer care says an internal restricted substances list bars PFAS, but the list is not published, and Graco has no certificate. Skip its waterproof play yard sheets, which read 240 ppm fluorine in 2022. The bassinet folds with the frame, which suits a nursery or grandparents' house more than a flight, and the pad is about an inch thick. Graco's last play yard recall was in December 2020, for an inclined sleeper accessory on an earlier model.
The Picks Side by Side
| Play yard | Best for | Flame retardant statement | Pad | Waterproof layer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guava Lotus Travel Crib | Travel, about 15 lb in a backpack | Whole crib | Floor mattress, core not named | Yes, material not named |
| Graco Pack 'n Play On the Go | Home, with a bassinet | Fabric and pad, since 2014 | Polyester over foam on fiberboard | None |
The Mattress Question
Do not swap in a thicker or organic replacement mattress
The thin pad feels hard, so many parents buy a plusher one, often sold as organic or as fitting every 38 by 26 inch play yard. A replacement that does not fit that exact model leaves a gap at the edge where a baby can get trapped. Since November 2023 the federal safety commission has announced 12 recalls and 6 warnings of replacement play yard mattresses, every one sold on Amazon, including Modera's organic cotton pad, Biloban's and Hiccapop's, whose maker refused a recall of about 108,000 units. Use the pad that came with the play yard, or one whose label names your play yard's brand and model.
That leaves the chemistry of the original pad, which is why the claim has to name it. If the pad is the part you are unsure of, the steps that help are free: air a new play yard for a few days before use, use a fitted cotton sheet sized for it, and skip waterproof sheets and mattress protectors unless the maker names a PFAS free finish.
Half a Claim
These brands deny flame retardants in part of the play yard, or say so only through someone else.
Nuna and Delta Children
Nuna's play yard chart says the fabrics on the SENA aire and PAAL contain no added fire retardant chemicals. That leaves the mattress and its panels out, unlike Nuna's car seats, where the statement covers fabric and foam. Nuna says the SENA aire mattress is not polyurethane foam and the changer has no PVC or flame retardant treatment, which is promising, but it makes no PFAS statement for any play yard.
Delta Children says every product it makes is free from added toxic fire retardants. That sentence names no part, and the word toxic leaves out anything the maker does not count as toxic. Every current Delta play yard is Jeep branded and sold with a water resistant floor or pad whose material is not named, and Delta makes no PFAS statement.
Newton Baby and Joovy
Newton says its mattresses use no chemical fire retardants, and its travel cribs use the same breathable core as its crib mattress. In 2020 the Ecology Center found a phosphorus flame retardant built into that core, which Newton had disclosed and has never said it removed. Newton makes no PFAS statement and holds only GREENGUARD Gold.
Joovy's only flame retardant claim is an answer it gave the Center for Environmental Health for a 2018 survey, which listed the Room2 as free of them. Joovy publishes nothing itself on flame retardants or PFAS, and the Room failed Health Canada's structural and labeling checks in 2021 and 2022, after which Joovy stopped selling it there.
Brands We Did Not Pick
Evenflo and Chicco
Evenflo makes no flame retardant statement for any play yard. Its own Vermont filings list the Play-Away and the Portable BabySuite by name, and report antimony in play pen textiles with the function flame retardant, at 100 to 500 ppm. That level is typical of what is left over from making polyester, but Evenflo files the same chemical as a catalyst elsewhere and chose flame retardant here, so we take its words as written. Nine Evenflo car seat recalls since 2021 also make its quality record a brand problem.
Chicco's Alfa Lite, Alfa Lite Nest and Dash pages say each is produced without intentionally added fire retardant treatments, PFAS, BPA or phthalates. Its parent's 2018 Vermont filing reported triphenyl phosphate, with the function flame retardant, in play pen fabric, and every play pen filing from 2018 to 2025 reports DEHP, a phthalate, in the plastics. The filings do not say which current model. The Alfa Lite's mattress cover is EVA, a plastic.
UPPAbaby, Bugaboo, BabyBjörn and Maxi-Cosi
UPPAbaby and Maxi-Cosi sell car seats free of added flame retardants and do not extend that to the Remi, Swift or Calao, and none of the three publishes a PFAS statement. UPPAbaby's original Remi used a foam free air mesh mattress under an organic cotton cover, the best pad design here, but the Remi V2 discloses no materials at all. UPPAbaby bought 4moms in 2024, and the Breeze play yards, whose pad was polyurethane foam under a water resistant cover, are discontinued.
Bugaboo publishes the Stardust's materials, polyester and polyamide over a polyurethane foam mattress, but no flame retardant or PFAS statement. BabyBjörn's Travel Crib Light has a polyether foam pad under a polyester and polyurethane cover, no flame retardant or PFAS statement, and an OEKO-TEX number that the certifier says has expired.
Baby Trend, Dream On Me, Pamo Babe, Regalo and Summer
Asked on a retailer page in August 2026 whether the Lil Snooze Deluxe II had flame retardants, Baby Trend said only that it meets applicable flammability requirements. Its law labels name a polyester fabric and a polyurethane foam pad, and nothing about the cover. Dream On Me names "polyester foam fabric" and nothing more, and Pamo Babe publishes no flame retardant, PFAS or pad material statement for either of its play yards.
The Regalo My Play and the Summer Pop 'N Play are play areas, not beds: Regalo's manual says the My Play is designed for play and not for sleep. Neither maker states anything about flame retardants or PFAS.
Free Habits That Lower the Dose
- Air a new play yard for a few days in a ventilated room before a baby sleeps in it.
- Skip waterproof play yard sheets and protectors unless the maker names a PFAS free finish. A fitted cotton sheet made for the play yard's size is enough.
- Never spray the pad or fabric with a waterproofing product. Many are fluorinated.
- Keep the original pad, and never add a second mattress, a topper or a folded blanket under the sheet.
- Check the year on a used play yard. One made before 2014 may have treated foam, and one made before 2020 predates California's limit. The date is on the label under the pad.
- Vacuum and damp dust around where the play yard stands, and wash hands before feeding. Flame retardants leave foam in dust, and a crawling baby collects it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do pack and plays have flame retardants?
Most new ones sold in the US do not, by the makers' own accounts and the one recent test. No federal rule asks a play yard pad to resist fire, California dropped play yards from its furniture fire rule in 2014, and it has banned flame retardants above 1,000 ppm in new ones since 2020. When California tested five play yards in 2018 it found no added TDCPP or TCEP. Older ones did carry them: in 2011, 11 of 13 portable crib mattresses tested had a flame retardant, and two makers' current state filings still report one in play pen fabric.
Why does no pack and play rate good?
Because no maker can show the proof. A play yard passes our materials check when the maker states that the fabric and the pad carry no added flame retardants and that the play yard is PFAS free, and a certificate that tests the finished product, or an independent test from the last three years, backs it up. Guava and Graco deny flame retardants across the whole play yard but make no published PFAS statement, no play yard maker holds a certificate we could verify, and the newest lab test of a play yard pad is from 2018.
Is the Graco Pack 'n Play non toxic?
It is closer than its reputation. Graco says every Pack 'n Play made since January 2014 has no added flame retardants in the fabric or the pad, California's 2018 test of a Pack 'n Play found no added TDCPP or TCEP, and the standard pad is polyester over foam with no waterproof layer. What Graco does not publish is a PFAS statement or a certificate, and its waterproof play yard sheets read 240 ppm fluorine in 2022. A Pack 'n Play made before 2014 may have treated foam.
Can I put a thicker or organic mattress in a pack and play?
Only one whose label names your play yard's brand and model. A replacement mattress that does not fit that exact model leaves a gap where a baby can get trapped, and since November 2023 there have been 12 federal recalls and 6 warnings of replacement play yard mattresses, all sold on Amazon, including organic ones. The pad that came with the play yard is the one it was tested with.
Are PFAS banned in play yards?
In five states. California has banned intentionally added PFAS, or 100 ppm of total organic fluorine, in play yards since July 2023, Colorado since January 2024, Minnesota since January 2025, and Maine and Vermont since January 2026. There is no federal limit, a state ban relies on the maker's word unless the state tests, and play yards made before those dates are still sold used.
Does GREENGUARD Gold mean a play yard has no flame retardants or PFAS?
No. GREENGUARD Gold is an emissions test: UL measures the volatile chemicals a finished product releases into the air. It does not measure what is in the foam or fabric, so it says nothing either way about flame retardants or PFAS. A certificate that tests the finished product, such as OEKO-TEX Standard 100 with a number you can look up, is the kind that does.
Is a used pack and play a good idea?
It can be, if it is recent and complete. Look for the manufacture date on the label under the pad: one made before 2014 may have treated foam, and one made before 2020 predates California's flame retardant limit. Check the model against recall lists, make sure it has its original pad and every part, and do not use one with torn mesh or a rail that will not lock.
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