Crate & Barrel Merrow Stitch Warm Natural Organic Cotton Tablecloth vs Festival Tablecloth: which is safer?

Crate & Barrel Merrow Stitch Warm Natural Organic Cotton Tablecloth is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Our pick

Crate & Barrel Merrow Stitch Warm Natural Organic Cotton Tablecloth

Crate and Barrel

Crate & Barrel Merrow Stitch Warm Natural Organic Cotton Tablecloth

PFAS grade

Good 65/100

Overall grade

Good 53/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

100% organic cotton, no coating

Confidence

88%

PossibleAzo dyes and synthetic colorants

PossiblePesticide residues from cotton cultivation

PossibleMicrobial growth and mold from retained moisture

Sferra Festival Tablecloth

Sferra

Festival Tablecloth

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

linen/cotton blend with stain/water repellent treatment

Confidence

45%

PossibleUndisclosed water-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) chemistry

LikelyCoating degradation and fiber shedding on repeated wash

PossibleMigration of water-repellent coating compounds into food during table use

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Azo dyes and synthetic colorants, Pesticide residues from cotton cultivation and Microbial growth and mold from retained moisture on the Crate and Barrel and not on the Sferra.
  • We flag Undisclosed durable water repellent (DWR) chemistry, Coating degradation and fiber shedding on repeated wash and Migration of DWR compounds into food during table use on the Sferra and not on the Crate and Barrel.
  • The Crate and Barrel is 100% organic cotton, no coating where the Sferra is linen/cotton blend with stain/water repellent treatment, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Crate and Barrel is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Sferra grade, at 45% confidence against 88%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More stain-resistant textiles, see the full ranking