Among the domestic E0 grade, Japanese F4 star and European E1 grade environmentally friendly boards, which one should I choose for custom furniture?

When custom furniture store salespeople explain the environmental credentials of their products, some claim their boards meet Japan's F4-star environmental rating, others claim they meet Europe's E1 environmental registration, and still others claim they meet E0. Everyone claims theirs is the most environmentally friendly! So, today, let's compare these three environmentally friendly board grades!

On June 5, 2004, the World Health Organization issued Announcement No. 153, declaring formaldehyde a Class I carcinogen. Formaldehyde is a highly toxic substance and ranks second on my country's priority list of toxic chemicals. A survey conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in October 2005 showed that formaldehyde levels in Chinese home decoration projects exceeded standards in as many as 60%.

According to experts, the term "E0" has been used in my country as a standard for formaldehyde emission limits since 1997 or 1998, with varying standards. Cao Zhongrong, a researcher at the Wood Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and one of the drafters of my country's national plywood standards, explained that the E0 grade officially appeared in the 2004 national standard for plywood, GB/T9846.1-9846.8-2004, indicating a limit on formaldehyde emissions.

It is understood that this standard is primarily based on Japan's established environmental standards. Japan's standards are divided into four levels. The most stringent F4 star is not adopted in my country's plywood formaldehyde emission measurement standards. Only the Japanese F3, F2, and F1 stars are adopted, corresponding to the national standards of E0, E1, and E2, respectively. That is, E2 ≤ 5.0 mg/L, E1 ≤ 1.5 mg/L, and E0 ≤ 0.5 mg/L. Both E1 and E0 levels are standards for free formaldehyde content in board materials. E1 level has a free formaldehyde content of ≤ 9 mg/100 g, while E0 level has a formaldehyde content of ≤ 4 mg/100 g (an alternative calculation standard is: E1 ≤ 1.5 mg/L, E0 ≤ 0.5 mg/L).

E0, E1, and E2 all refer to environmental standards for formaldehyde emission limits. Originally developed in Germany by "EGGER," these standards were later adopted as European standards. Many domestic companies claim to have no E0 standard, which is the highest standard in Europe, E1 and E2. E0 is the most stringent environmental standard, equivalent to E1 and E2 in Europe, and is determined based on the content of formaldehyde and other harmful substances in the board material.

E0 is simply a formaldehyde emission level, not an environmental rating. E0 is only available in China, but not in Europe, the US, or Japan. Japan's F4-star formaldehyde emission level is 0.12-0.3mg/l, but some domestically produced boards already emit less than this. Some brands even display "not detected" when testing their boards, effectively surpassing the F4-star rating.