Drawer bottoms are made from 1/4″ thick plywood and meet CARB Phase 2 compliance standards.

Upgrading to the hard white maple drawer boxes would accomplish that. Those drawer bottoms are made in Southern Oregon using Columbia’s HDF material. Virtually everything produced here in Oregon is now certified formaldehyde-free.

As for the Baltic plywood, it’s important to clarify that it isn’t formally certified. However, I checked a pallet in the shop, and it’s clearly labeled as NAUF, “No Added Urea Formaldehyde.” This means the plywood is manufactured without added formaldehyde in the adhesive, but the manufacturer likely chose not to pay for official third-party certification, which is common practice to keep costs down.

On a personal note, I’m allergic to formaldehyde and absolutely refuse to work in an environment with VOC-laden wood dust. Over the last 20 years, the industry has shifted heavily toward formaldehyde-free materials. It would be difficult today to find plywood or HDF with any noticeable emissions. I’m sure some still exists, but in our operation we closely monitor and verify all materials we source to ensure we aren’t introducing anything harmful into our shop or our customers’ homes. Thanks!