The entire class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is now a focus for elimination or restriction in many jurisdictions. This is because over the past few decades PFAS contamination has grown into a serious global health threat due to the ability of these chemicals to persist in the environment for hundreds of years; their presence in almost all human populations; and increasing evidence of their health impacts. PFAS use in all industry sectors is under scrutiny, and the furniture and fabric sector is coming under increasing pressure in the United States from NGO, state, and large health care purchasing organizations to avoid the use of PFAS stain repellents. PFAS in dust is a known contaminant in buildings and rooms where furniture and fabric containing these chemicals are used. Researchers at Harvard University recently tested dust from classrooms, office suites and common rooms for a range of hazardous chemicals including PFAS. They found that rooms with “healthier” materials that did not use PFAS had 78% lower PFAS concentrations than rooms with conventional furniture that contained these chemicals. This means that our exposure to PFAS can be reduced.
GreenScreen Certified® Standard for Furniture & Fabrics is the only third party certification that meets Kaiser Permanente's environmentally preferable product (EPP) criteria and provides the necessary validation and verification that products do not contain PFAS, as well as thousands of other chemicals of concern. GreenScreen Certified criteria provide the roadmap for manufacturers to adopt preferred chemicals while still maintaining product functionality and quality. So what motivates companies to get their products GreenScreen Certified? We know from working with companies in the BizNGO Working Group and in the Chemical Footprint Project, that champions for safer chemicals within a company are key drivers for success.
Glen Raven, Inc manufactures textiles for automotive, industrial, healthcare, residential and outdoor furniture, and other applications with popular recognition of its Sunbrella brand fabrics, including Sunbrella Contract upholstery fabrics for indoor and outdoor commercial environments. Within its portfolio of Contract upholstery fabrics, Sunbrella launched Sunbrella Assure in 2019, a non-PFAS fabric technology designed to support applications in need of high-performance, superior cleanability, and an extra touch of care. Sunbrella has recently achieved GreenScreen Certified Bronze level of certification in the Furniture & Fabrics category for all Sunbrella Contract fabrics featuring the Assure fabric technology– the first fabric manufacturer in the category to do so.
Heather Covert, Sustainability Manager at Glen Raven, knows the value of the GreenScreen methodology for chemical hazard assessment, having completed the Authorized GreenScreen Practitioner’s course. When Maharam, the leading designer of textiles for commercial and residential interiors, asked her to investigate the certification, she found it offered a way to ensure third party compliance with the GreenScreen suite of tools. “As we got to know more about GreenScreen Certified for Furniture & Fabrics, we saw it went even further than we imagined: It goes well beyond just looking for fluorine to a more comprehensive approach to preferred chemistry for healthier materials. We are excited to be the first fabric manufacturer to offer GreenScreen Certified fabrics to the trade,” she added.
Over the past decade, Maharam has sought to better understand its environmental impact by both gathering and sharing measurable information and publishing a detailed overview of its chemical policies and practices.They have taken this proactive approach further by becoming the first textile company to get their products GreenScreen Certified. Betsy Phillips, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Maharam, was one of the technical reviewers of the GreenScreen Certified Standard for Furniture & Fabrics and continues to be foundational in championing the adoption of this certification. She confirmed the importance of addressing all PFAS for elimination. “Nothing else addresses PFAS as a class of chemicals or verifies PFAS-free claims the way GreenScreen Certified does,” she stated.
That leaves the question of functional and effective substitutes to PFAS. Is it difficult to replace PFAS based stain repellents? “Based on our internal testing, we’re finding that often a finish is not needed at all and that textiles without a finish, or with a PFAS-free finish, clean just as well (and sometimes better) than those with a PFAS-based finish. Years ago it was assumed that the more layers of chemical finishing, the better, but this thinking is outdated and we know more about the environmental impact of these chemicals now,” Betsy added. For this reason her work involves close collaboration with clients to understand the specific performance and cleaning needs for each product application. “We see this as a great educational opportunity, and as the first to offer GreenScreen Certified textiles, we hope to be a catalyst for others to elevate our sector to healthier chemicals and materials."
