The couch is cosier the posher it is, and preferably it doesn’t get stains from every dropped potato chip. The mat is nor supposed to slide away, neither to immediately catch fire if a candle tumbles over. The remote control must not crack if it falls to the floor, and the TV should not catch fire. Chipboard gives us cheaper furniture than massive wood. And isn’t a beautifully colored and scented candle the easiest way to create a certain atmosphere? Roses, maybe? Or vanilla?

A normal living room often offers a juicy mix of materials. And since we humans like these materials to have different qualities, we add a lot of chemicals to them.

Today over 100 000 chemical substances are registered for the EU:s market, and new ones are invented all the time. In the 1950s, 7 million tons of chemicals where produced in the world every year. Today we count to 400 million tons. Every single year. And they accumulate from year to year on our planet.

From padded furniture and carpets to pot plants and candles: The chemically clever options exist, also for the living room.