New member and a special thanks to Duane

This is my first posting and I have to say how thankful I am to Duane for this forum and all of the information and knowledge he shares with everyone.

Weeks ago we bought some leather furniture "Flexsteel Latitude Dylan group" to be exact. The day after I sat on the chair (in the store) I broke out in a rash on both forearms. I didnt relate it to the leather at that time until I did some research here and found it was totally made in China. Then I came across an online article from Consumers Reports titled "Is your leather furniture making you sick" It talked about CHINESE LEATHER and the use of chemical packets that are installed inside the COMPLETED leather pieces. These are to prevent mold and mildew during shipment. The chemicals eventually permeate the leather and can be transferred to your skin. Again this was with COMPLETED furniture pieces not bulk leather.
I cant say this is what happened to me or that Flexsteel uses these packets. I didn't want to gamble with our purchase, plus after reading Duane's thoughts on the quality of the build of these units we decided to buy a single quality item and next season add to it. The economy has effected our area severely.
I went back to the store and canceled our order explaining the reason. While I was there I rubbed my arms on the chair again and the next day...RASH AGAIN! The sales person said she would call the Flexsteel Rep about this. His answer was "I never heard of such a thing."

The past several days I emailed Duane back and forth asking many questions and he promptly replied with pricing,leather types and finishes,down verses foam cores and a host of other topics. It's rare to find this caliber of a guy willing to go all out for the consumer's interest.

If I'm ever in your area I will make a point of stopping in to shake your hand and introduce myself. I will watch this site often for the valuable information you provide knowing you will be there if asked upon.

P.S. I dont see an option for a profile picture.
Most sincerely,
Paul

Thanks for the accolades, Paul!

Here's the thing about leather. The whole tanning process is a nasty, dirty business. Its so bad, that the EPA and OSHA closed all American tanneries in 2008. Now all leather is imported. it can be imported from China, or from Germany, but it is imported. The raw 'crusts' leave the USA and are sent to tanneries for processing, then come back as hides ready to go on upholstery.

There are carcinogenic chemicals used in the tanning of leather, so its important that the tannery use the appropriate safeguards in processing to keep its workers safe, and to ensure there are no active carcinogens on the finished product. Do all tanneries around the world do that? Who knows? That's the Hundred Thousand Dollar Question, I think its a pretty safe bet to assume that a German tannery has a higher safety standard than a Chinese one, however - based on generalities of products that come from each country. That's not to say there is something bad left on the Chinese leather (I've not heard of anything in the trade pipelines) but I'd have a higher confidence level with a European hide than ones from the Pacific Rim.

The only thing you get with a Chinese hide is price. Yes, it keeps the overall cost down of the piece, but you'll never confuse a leather from China with one from Sweden, or Italy.

Furniture that comes direct from China like the Flexsteel Lattitudes line is indeed full of large packets of 'Silica gel" the same thing as those small packets you find in electronics when you open the box. Silica gel is nearly harmless, which is why you find it in food products. Silica is the same material found in quartz. The gel form contains millions of tiny pores that can adsorb and hold moisture. Silica gel is essentially porous sand. Without it, the leather furniture may get mold on its long ocean voyage from the high relative humidity.

I would think your allergic reaction to the furniture is not a result of the Silica Gel, but from the material used on the topcoat of that particular leather. The only way to be sure would be to have it tested by a lab - at least thats my guess.

There was a product many years ago called China Cow. It was a very popular, inexpensive leather that many furniture companies bought. It even had its own cute little 'China Cow' logo. They sold tons of this stuff. Well, a few people started getting sick from this leather and it turned out that there were active chemicals on the surface that could cause cancer. Most people it never affected, but it someone sat on the leather and they were sweaty, the chemicals would absorb through the sweat into their bloodstream. Once that news spread, China Cow disappeared from the market overnight.

I've had this discussion with several of my suppliers of fine leather furniture, and none of them think the current crop of leathers coming from China have any safety issues whatsoever. If they had concerns, they would not sell it - nor would I.

I don't trust anything that comes from China. When I get catalogs--from L.L. Bean, Garnet Hill, etc.--I won't buy a single item that has "Imported" next to it. That almost always means China. If it's from Italy, it will say so. I hesitate with products from India and Pakistan, as well. All of my sheets are Italian--no WAY would I buy sheets and towels made anywhere but in Italy. Honestly, I know this makes me sound like a paranoid freakazoid, but I trust NOTHING from China.