How to Phase Out PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' on the Pathway to Sustainable Goods
98% of Americans have PFAS, a class of synthetic 'forever chemicals', in their blood.
This Sustainable Practice action guide helps you phase out the ‘forever chemicals’ called PFAS, which build up in our environment, find their way into our bodies, and can cause cancer and birth defects. People have been using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) since the 1940s to make products like long-lasting non-stick surfaces for take-out containers, pizza boxes, and cookware; breathable waterproof membranes for clothing; and stain-resistant coatings for furniture. We can help stop adding persistent toxins to our planet by buying products that are PFAS-free.
As evidence accumulates that toxic PFAS are now found in the blood “serum of nearly all of the people tested,” lawsuits are proceeding to sort out who should pay for the consequences (and also to establish the human health consequences of exposure to these pervasive pollutants). This action guide will help you understand the latest scientific knowledge and adopt best practices to stop bringing PFAS into your home or organization—and keep more PFAS from getting into our environment.
Our goal is to help environmental champions like you make your own home and organizations superbly sustainable. When it comes to making wise choices for sustainability as consumers in the United States, we need to understand which substances can cause cancer, birth defects, and other problems. Our government does not require manufacturers to assess health risks before putting new chemicals into circulation, nor does it ban hazardous substances except in very rare cases. Our government does, however, help us decide which consumer products to buy by funding the National Biomonitoring Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess our exposure to environmental chemicals and toxic substances.
Here are effective action steps you can take to choose PFAS-free sustainable goods:
First, educate yourself by reading the CDC’s PFAS Factsheet and the EPA’s PFAS Explained website for the U.S. federal government’s assessment of PFAS exposure and the adverse health effects observed from animal studies.
Stop using non-stick cookware. A sensible trail to follow along pathways to sustainability is to switch to stainless steel or cast iron cookware, which both work well with electric induction stoves.
Stop using microwaveable products in paper packaging, like microwave popcorn. PFAS are used in microwave popcorn and other greaseproof packaging that needs to “resist high temperatures, repel oil, and have nonstick properties.” It’s best practice to use microwave-safe glass or ceramic containers, not coated paper or plastic containers, in microwave ovens.
Look for clothing, especially rain gear, made without PFAS. Most consumer outdoor brands, such as Gore-Tex, plan to phase out PFAS in the “vast majority” of their clothing by the end of 2025.
Consider filtering your tap water to remove PFAS. You may want to avoid beverages packaged in plastic; Coca-Cola is among many companies being sued for the PFAS found in their sparkling water or juices.
Help! I’m hearing about PFAS, PFCs, PFOA, PFOS, and a bunch of other scary-sounding acronyms. How do I avoid them all?
Sorry, you can’t completely avoid these substances (without taking extreme measures), but you can reduce your level of exposure, and you don’t need to be afraid. Let’s start by defining some acronyms and some basic chemistry terms. Taking the time now to understand what these substances are will help you explain to your family and colleagues why you are taking prudent steps to reduce your exposure to them.
Chemicals are made up of molecules, which are made up of elementary atoms like fluorine and carbon. A substance is just another word for a chemical. A while ago, people started using PFC as an acronym for two different kinds of chemicals:
perfluorinated chemicals, a general category of molecules that contain fluorine and other elements or
perfluorocarbons, a sub-category of PFCs that contain only fluorine and carbon.
Now when you say “PFC,” people don’t know whether you are talking about all perfluorinated chemicals or just the ones that contain only fluorine and carbon. If it matters, you need to get more specific.
We know much more about some chemicals than others—very small changes in the types of atoms or their arrangement in molecules make a huge difference in how well each chemical performs—and what it does once it finds its way into a plant or animal. Biologically, humans are animals, so it’s concerning when we find cancer and birth defects in animals that are exposed to chemicals that are so useful to industry. The race is on to find formulas that allow manufacturers to keep making non-stick pans, waterproof rain pants, and stain-resistant armchairs without harming our planet and the people on it.
PFOA is a specific molecule, perfluorooctanoic acid, also called C8, which has been identified as a possible carcinogen and toxin. PFOS is another specific molecule, perfluorooctane sulfonate, also called perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, which has also been identified as a possible carcinogen and toxin. To clarify what they are talking about, “EPA is now trying to use “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)” rather than "perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs)" consistently.” (You don’t really need to know this, but for extra credit, perfluoro means fully fluorinated, polyfluoro means not fully fluorinated, and an alkyl just means a group of atoms that is part of a larger molecule. So PFAS is a general term to describe molecules with fluorine atoms and groups of other atoms.)
As far as avoiding all PFAS, there is some good news and bad news. First, the good news is that the CDC has been monitoring the level of “long alkyl chain PFAS” in people’s blood since 2000. The concentration of PFOA and PFOS being found in everyone’s blood has decreased substantially. The CDC’s biomonitoring project says this result is “demonstrating the effectiveness of actions to reduce exposure.” This is due largely to the fact that manufacturers in the United States have voluntarily agreed to stop producing PFOS and PFOA.
We might also take some solace that we’ve been exposed to PFOS, PFOA and other PFAS since the 1940s, and we’re not all sick yet. The exact amount of risk from each type of PFAS is hard to quantify—there is so much we don’t understand about biology that no one can say for certain who will get cancer or who will have a birth defect from exposure to them.
Now, the bad news: we have evidence that many types of PFAS might cause cancer and other diseases in humans, and many of these hazardous PFAS are still found in many consumer goods. Of particular concern are products like cookware and clothing that come into direct contact with people. If you cook in a non-stick pan, some of the non-stick coating comes off into the food you serve; if you wear clothing that has been treated to be waterproof, some of that water-repellent coating comes off while you’re wearing or washing your clothes; and if you buy stain-resistant furniture, some of that coating rubs off onto you or the people sitting on your couch.
PFAS are now part of our environment, including our drinking water, because they resist breaking down. PFAS in our wastewater ends up in our rivers, lakes, and groundwater. The United States Geologic Service estimates that 45% of tap water could have one or more PFAS. In 2023, results from testing in Maine found PFAS contamination on more than fifty farms. PFAS come into our bodies through our skin, lungs, and intestines and flow out through our excretions. We can’t avoid all exposure, but we can help the problem from getting even worse by choosing PFAS-free consumer goods.
Help! Is PFAS like cholesterol? Are there “good” PFAS and “bad” PFAS?
From industry’s perspective, we already know how to make “excellent” PFAS—the problem is that they last too long and build up in the environment. But if we make molecules that break down safely in the environment, the non-stick, waterproof, and stain-resistant coatings won’t last as long. It’s possible we might discover some “better” and “worse” PFAS; for example, people thought shorter-chain alkyls in PFAS might reduce health risks. The central difficulty is that it’s very hard to assess the health risk of PFAS.
Patagonia initially transitioned away from what’s called “long-chain” PFAS chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS, to “short-chain” ones — completing the swap for products in stores by mid-2016. At the time, the thinking was that short-chain chemicals were safer; testing and scientific study into long-chain chemicals was more extensive. But as the transition was underway, Dwyer says the company realized this was not “just an imperfect solution, but was a solution possibly as bad as the ones that we’d replaced.” So the journey to go totally PFAS-free began, and quickly proved daunting.
—The Race to Waterproof Your Outdoor Gear — Without Toxic Chemicals
If you manufacture waterproof rain gear or non-stick pans, you have a strong incentive to find a “good” PFAS. But it probably is a better strategy as a consumer to find a better way to meet your needs. For example, stainless steel and cast iron cookware doesn’t require any type of permanent non-stick coating: you can use natural oils instead. The choices we have as consumers for waterproof gear that is PFAS-free are currently limited, but after 2025, we should have many more options.
Help! How do I find PFAS-free products? And what should I do with the stuff I already own that has PFAS in it?
The best way to avoid PFAS in consumer goods is to understand the main reasons manufacturers add PFAS to products in the first place, which is to provide
non-stick surfaces,
waterproof membranes,
stain resistance, or
flame retardants.
Do you really need to buy products with those features?
For food storage and preparation, best practice is to choose products made from glass, stainless steel, or cast iron. For clothing, avoid anything that advertises being stain-resistant or flame-retardant without explaining exactly which chemicals are used, and look for “PFC-free” or “PFAS-free” on the labels. It’s probably wise to avoid fabric protection sprays. 3M, the manufacturer of Scotchgard, pulled that product off the market in 2020 and reformulated it while claiming, “PFAS can be safely made and used.” Now 3M is bowing to public pressure: rather than continuing to reformulate its PFAS, it plans to stop making PFAS by the end of 2025. We won’t know the chemicals that 3M introduces to replace PFAS until then, and we won’t know the full environmental impact of those new chemicals for several years after that.
Until the concepts of the circular economy are more broadly taught in schools and understood by the public, when you ask, “What should I do with the stuff I own that contains PFAS?” you are likely to receive conflicting advice from well-meaning people who are schooled in the linear landfill economic mindset. In their minds, throwing material into a landfill gets rid of it and is the end of the story. But as the CDC’s biomonitoring data shows, just putting PFAS in a landfill doesn’t keep it out of our environment or our bodies.
Throwing away stuff that contains PFAS is not a great idea because the PFAS can leak out of landfills into groundwater and billow out of waste incinerators into the air. A better idea would be to treat this material as household hazardous waste, at least until the EPA’s interim guidance on how to dispose of it becomes final.
Here’s how to handle hazardous waste in your home or organization:
Set aside an area to collect and store this waste in plastic bins.
Label the area and bins “household hazardous waste.”
Contact your local public works department to find out where and when to take your hazardous waste and which categories are currently accepted.
Due to the volume of hazardous waste we produce, facilities to dispose of it properly often become overwhelmed. The people running our waste disposal system must make difficult cost-benefit decisions daily. As a cost-cutting measure, many items that should be diverted from landfills and incinerators get buried or burned. Occasionally, grant funding or some other temporary source of money will allow a community to use best practices to handle hazardous waste in a way that protects our environment and public health before budgetary constraints force them to go back to landfilling or incinerating hazardous waste even though that harms our environment and public health.
If you can store your household hazardous waste and keep an ear out for opportunities to participate in household hazardous waste collection events, you can often take advantage of these short windows of time when your hazardous waste can be properly handled rather than landfilled or incinerated. You should also understand that due to the linear landfill mentality, staff turnover, and changing ideas about best practices, you’ll often hear conflicting advice about how to handle your hazardous waste.
A basic understanding of chemistry will help you ascertain whether the waste disposal advice you’re getting is scientific. PFAS, like all molecules, can be filtered out of water and then broken down to its constituent atoms using heat or chemical reactions. When people talk about “treating” for PFAS, they usually mean filtering water to collect PFAS and allow water molecules through. The next question is what to do with the PFAS and other pollutants collected. Burying them just starts the process over, because all landfills fill up with water. Burning them in waste-to-energy incinerators is unsafe because these facilities were not designed to capture all the toxins they produce when they burn garbage. To really take care of the problem, PFAS must go through specific heat or chemical treatments in a careful process inside a closed container to break apart each molecule. At the end of that process, fluorine atoms and the other constituents of PFAS can be collected and used for more beneficial purposes.
What’s Still Ahead on the Pathway…
Earlier this year, we explored the pathway to sustainable movement and energy. Now, we’re exploring the pathway to sustainable goods to make the transition from a linear landfilling economy to a circular recycling economy. Stay with us on the journey to sustainability as we take action to have a positive impact on the world.
References and Further Reading
PFAS: What you need to know about these ‘forever chemicals’, Washington State Department of Health
Blood Testing for PFAS, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
What are the health effects of PFAS?, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS, U.S. EPA
National Biomonitoring Program, U.S. CDC
PFAS Explained, U.S. EPA
Does cast iron work on induction cooktops?, Field Company
Does microwave popcorn cause cancer?, Medical News Today
The Race to Waterproof Your Outdoor Gear — Without Toxic Chemicals, Bloomberg
Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of drinking water: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters, Environmental Working Group
‘All-natural’ Simply Tropical juice has high toxic PFAS levels, lawsuit alleges, The Guardian
Beverage Manufacturers Face a Wave of PFAS Contamination Class Actions, JD Supra
Perfluorooctanoic acid, Wikipedia
PFOS (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate or Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid), Proposition 65 Fact Sheet
What are PFCs and How Do They Relate to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)?, U.S. EPA
Biomonitoring Factsheet, U.S. CDC
3M will stop making hazardous ‘forever chemicals’ starting in 2025, CNN
Tap water study detects PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ across the US, U.S. Geological Survey
More than 50 Maine farms impacted by PFAS, but state officials see ‘glimmer of hope’, Maine Public
Lowe’s Bans PFAS in Fabric Protector Sprays, National Resource Defence Council
3M to Exit PFAS Manufacturing by the End of 2025, 3M News Center
Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Landfills: Occurrence, Transformation and Treatment, Waste Management
Emission of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from a Waste-to-Energy Plant─Occurrence in Ashes, Treated Process Water, and First Observation in Flue Gas, Environmental Science & Technology