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Non Toxic Desks

Solid wood desks, non toxic sit stand desks, and how to make convertible desks a little healthier. Click the rating symbols below each desk for more information about its material health.

Organic Solid Wood Desks


Natural Furniture 

Natural Furniture sells only 100% solid wood furniture— no formaldehyde-containing particleboard or MDF anywhere. You can select unfinished options, or choose one of their plant-based finishes for their wide selection of desks. Glue brand is unspecified but company verifies that it is zero or low-VOC.

Metal and Glass Desks

Metal and glass are materials that offer an affordable non toxic desk option without any formaldehyde-containing particleboard or MDF. They also typically have very minimal adhesives, if any. Range from inexpensive options on Amazon (linked here) to high-end options at designer stores.

Avocado Green

This non toxic Mid Century Modern desk from Avocado is an ultra-healthy option made with solid wood and has quiet soft-close drawers. They use a water based adhesive, safe zero-VOC stains, and have a transparent ingredients list.

Wood Furniture

Wood Furniture features the Ethnicraft collection of desks, which are made from solid woods, joinery, and natural finishes. They have many styles of zero VOC solid wood desks, including the ultra simple modern desk above.

Desk Converter

Branch, maker of desks and some of the office chairs I recommend, has a new desk riser that’s on par with my current one in terms of material health, but much more attractive, if that matters to you. Option to add a monitor shelf if you’re using a desktop instead of a laptop.

Non Toxic Sit Stand Desks


Adjustable Desk Converter

I have yet to see one of these small, heavy duty desk converters made from something other than engineered wood. But, I needed a strong and small converter that didn’t require disassembly between sitting and standing. My office is upstairs through a narrow staircase, I use a heavy computer, and I have to transition between sitting and standing quickly sometimes. To balance these conveniences with unhealthy engineered wood, I use a wool pad where I come in contact with it.

Wool Pad for Desks

If you have a less-than-healthy desk top, I recommend just covering the parts you touch with a wool pad, since contaminants in plastic are potentially absorbable through skin if you’re in contact with it for long hours like I am. These from Graf Lantz are made from Merino wool, and they use safe OEKO-TEX certified dyes. I currently have a couple of these in dark green, and they’re really lovely.

More Healthy Design for You

More About Non Toxic Furniture

What is engineered wood?

Engineered wood consists of thin pieces of solid wood attached with glue to either side of a non-solid wood core. The core can be either plywood or ground wood fibers mixed with resin. The outer solid wood surface is called a veneer, and the layers are bound together with adhesives. The adhesives holding the layers together, and the glue-based binders in the plywood or ground wood fibers, are where the health issues potentially lie, since these glues typically contain urea-formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Some newer engineered wood uses bio-based glues or NAF (No Added Formaldehyde) resins that are much healthier (some don’t, using polyurethane or other harmful substitutions). Engineered wood is often used in furniture construction, like in making couches, because it is stronger than solid wood and can hold up to many years of wear and tear.

Is engineered wood toxic?

It depends entirely on what the glue/resin/binder is that holds the wood together. If it is held together with a soy-based resin with no added formaldehyde, then it is a healthy option. If it is held together with a glue that contains formaldehyde, or a glue that contains other harmful chemicals like isocyanates, then it is harmful to health.

Are wood stains toxic?

Wood stains are often, but not always, toxic to health. It depends on the kind you use. A completely natural wood stain like coffee is safe, though that’s very uncommon in furniture you purchase. Water-based wood stains are used far more often in health-minded furniture, and are relatively non-toxic, especially ones with certifications like GreenSeal-11 ensuring the most harmful additives are avoided. Ones without VOCs, antimicrobials, chemical drying agents, or heavy metals are a better choice. Oil-based wood stains with standard chemicals including solvents that release high VOCs are very common in standard furniture and are quite harmful to health.

What is the difference between wood stain and wood finish?

Wood stains add color to natural wood, while a finish protects it.

Why are oil-based finishes, but water-based stains, better?

Natural, oil-based finishes like linseed oil, hemp oil, or tung oil are minimally processed, and very low in VOCs. Water-based finishes often contain high-VOC, toxic solvents to make them work better.

On the other hand, natural, oil-based stains typically have higher VOCs, whereas their water-based counterparts, have less.

What are plant-based oil finishes?

Linseed, hemp, and tung oil are types of plant-based oil finishes. Linseed oil comes from the flax plant. Hemp oil comes from the cannabis plant. Tung oil comes from the Tung tree (Vernicia fordii), native to China, Myanmar, and North Vietnam.

What are solvent-based finishes?

Varnish, acrylic, synthetic lacquer, and urethane-based finishes all require a much higher solvent concentration than water-based finishes, so are quite high in VOCs that irritate your respiratory tract. They also often contain carcinogenic chemicals.

Is shellac toxic?

It depends which kind you’re thinking about! Natural shellac comes from the cocoon-like secretions of the female lac bug, and has been used for thousands of years. Synthetic shellac contains solvents, and has a harmful vapor.

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