Electronics, furniture, and other companies have proven that these products can be made fire-safe without PBDEs. Furniture-maker IKEA has found ways to design its furniture so that flame retardants are not needed. Major U.S. electronics companies, such as HP and Dell, have turned away from PBDEs and use alternate flame retardants or non-flammable materials.

Eight U.S. states have passed legislation to ban penta and octa PBDEs, and several states have passed laws to study deca. In 2003, the European Union issued a directive to phase out PBDEs by July 2006; however, deca is currently exempted from the phaseout until 2010, although the European Union may rescind the exemption at any time.

Washington state agencies, at the direction of an executive order signed in 2004, have undertaken a major effort to study PBDEs and develop a phaseout plan. The Washington State Departments of Health and Ecology published a final plan in 2005 that recommended phasing out all forms of PBDEs, including deca, as long as safer alternatives are available. The plan identified several alternatives that, unlike PBDEs, do not persist in the environment or build up in people and wildlife.

In Washington, the Departments of Ecology and Health have called for a phaseout of all forms of PBDEs. The agencies, together with members of the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition, supported legislation in 2006 that would have ended the manufacture and sale of all products containing penta and octa after 2007; computers and televisions made with deca after 2010; and residential furniture made with deca after 2012. The legislation would also have required state agencies to purchase PBDE-free products and allow for the Department of Ecology to study actions needed to address existing PBDE contamination. Bills with these provisions passed the Senate and House Rules Committees, but legislative leaders did not bring them to a vote.

Along with the legislation, the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition is calling for an end to the use of PBDEs in all consumer products and for manufacturers to disclosure the use of any chemical flame retardants. Legislation is planned for 2007 to phase out PBDEs.