The Best Non-Toxic Nursery Chairs and Gliders

As you’re setting up your baby’s own gentle nursery, you might be wondering whether you should buy a glider or rocking chair. Some families don’t get much use out of a rocking chair, while others use a glider multiple times a day. To me, having a glider is essential and I have probably used mine multiple times each day with both kids, since the day my first baby came home. It’s nice to have a place to cuddle with your little one and to get comfy during feedings. (It’s also where I love to sit and read with my kids, as young as a few weeks old.) Also, keep in mind that the gliding or rocking motion is soothing to babies.

If you’re going to purchase a glider for the nursery, I recommend investing in a high-quality, low-tox glider to avoid having an uncomfortable chair in the nursery… or one that off-gasses toxic chemicals the air in your baby’s room (and in your home). Below I’ve listed some recommendations for non-toxic gliders and rocking chairs that are Greenguard certified and made with better materials. Please note that these manufacturers frequently change their inventory, so if one model is no longer available, you might find an updated version or a different model for sale.

Here are the brands I would consider when shopping for a low-tox nursery chair.

1) Nurture& Gliders

My personal choice! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My personal favorite nursery chair is the Glider Plus from Nurture&. Not only does this glider have all the bells and whistles, but it is truly made with a postpartum mama in mind.

After delivery, finding a comfortable position to nurse in feels nearly impossible — your body is healing, your core is not what it was, and you are in that chair for hours. The Glider Plus has power lumbar support, a power recline, and an adjustable headrest, which means you can dial in exactly what your body needs in that moment. The 200° swivel makes it so easy to get in and out without waking a finally-sleeping baby, and the built-in USB charging means your phone stays alive through every middle-of-the-night feed. (A small thing that feels enormous at 3am.)

What pushed it over the edge for me from a non-toxic standpoint is that it is made without flame  retardant chemicals and is Prop 65 compliant, which is not a given in upholstered nursery furniture, even from brands that seem clean. The performance fabric comes in several really beautiful options, holds up to spit-up and spills like a champ, and honestly just looks like a piece of furniture you’d want in your home long after the newborn stage is over. This is not a chair you’re going to resell when your baby turns one. It stays!

Nurture& also has a number of other chairs available, including manual recliners and other designs. I personally love the Glider Plus because it is so feature-rich (and this helps a lot in the early years of motherhood), but they have several other beautiful styles and colors available — everything from modern styles, gorgeous colors that will match your nursery, and cozy boucles. 

2) Monte Design Group

Based in Canada, Monte Design Group was formed by a husband and wife team wanting to furnish their own son’s nursery. The company uses high-density foam that is free of chemical flame retardants (and CertiPUR-US certified), wood that is LEED certified and contains no formaldehyde, water-based paints and finishes that are lead-free, and glues that are water-based and biodegradable. Their fabrics are Oeko-Tex Standard 100 compliant (meaning no hazardous chemicals are used in the manufacturing process), even when polyester is used.

Monte Design gliders and rockers are beautifully designed furniture pieces that will stay in your home for many years. If you’d like to purchase a Monte Design chair, email me for a special offer.

3) Dutailier

A Canadian company, Dutailier manufactures a variety of non-toxic wood gliders. Their chairs are of excellent quality and feature a beautiful, modern design. They have a ton of different styles, colors, options, and price ranges. Please note that their higher-end, higher-priced gliders are free of flame retardants (and are CertiPUR-US certified), while their sleigh gliders and more of their lower-priced options are made with polyester. However, their glider frames are made with hardwood and the finish is non-toxic. I also love that they offer a special nursing ottoman just for breastfeeding mamas.

4) Pottery Barn Kids

With a growing selection of Greenguard Gold certified furniture, Pottery Barn Kids is a welcome addition to this list of non-toxic nursery gliders. They have several stylish gliders and rockers to choose from.

5) Babyletto

Babyletto has started moving into the low-tox nursery furniture space, and their gliders are no different. They have several beautiful nursery chairs to choose from, including many that are Greenguard Certified. Also sold at Pottery Barn Kids, the Babyletto Kiwi Glider is a really popular nursery chair.

What Should You Look for in a Nursery Glider?

Look for a glider made with solid wood, low VOC finishes, and flame-retardant-free foam (if any at all). For example, you might find an unfinished solid wood rocking chair and pair it with some cotton cushions; this would be a great option. You could probably even have the cushions made for you on Etsy. This would be a great way to choose a truly non-toxic rocking chair for your nursery. (Just be sure to find out what glues are used and what kind of finish is on the chair before buying a wooden rocking chair.)

But, in my experience, most families prefer a cozy chair to a hard wooden rocker. For this reason, it’s important to choose a manufacturer that does not use toxic flame retardant chemicals in their cushions. Additionally, you’ll want your glider to have low VOC emissions overall, so a certification like Greenguard Gold is ideal. However, please note that most gliders are not Greenguard certified, yet, though some are. I’ve seen a few brands that are starting to use CertiPUR-US certified foam, which is a step in the right direction. (But please remember that any polyurethane foam, even “soy” foam, is still polyurethane foam, even if it has a certificate for lower emissions.)

Preferably, the glider would be made with fabrics that are GOTS-certified organic or even Oeko-Tex certified, but again most are made with polyester that is not certified. If you do end up buying a polyester glider, you could place a cotton blanket or quilt over the seat.

Another thing to consider is whether you’d want a recliner. Personally, I didn’t like the idea of using a recliner in the nursery, because I worried it would be too convenient to recline the chair and I’d end up falling asleep there with the baby in my arms. And that wouldn’t be a safe space for a newborn to sleep in. So instead of buying a recliner, I opted for a glider with an ottoman.

Still, I can’t emphasize enough how non-toxic gliders or rocking chairs are worth the investment given that you’ll spend hours sitting on one with your little one.

Should You Buy a Used Nursery Glider?

One way to reduce your exposure to off-gassing is to shop secondhand. I considered being a secondhand glider when I was pregnant with my first baby, but I’m so glad I bought a new one.

Here’s why: my kids spit up a lot. And their diapers leaked a lot. And I spent a ton of time nursing them on our glider.

So, as you can imagine, there was a lot of spit up on it. And their diapers leaked, so there were other fluids on there too. Of course, the cushion covers can be washed, but they spit up all over the place (on the armrest, on the seatback, down the sides, etc.). Because of this, I can’t imagine using a secondhand glider. I know that not everyone will agree with me on this, but I personally can’t recommend that you buy a used glider.

Did you find the perfect non-toxic glider for your nursery? It’s one of those items I use every day with my kids. I hope you found the right one for your budget and your nursery!

While you’re working on creating your own gentle nursery, be sure to check out my guide to non-toxic bassinets and non-toxic nursery furniture too!