What are PFAS?
PFAS are a group of chemicals with water, grease and dirt repellent functions. There are thousands of different chemicals within the PFAS group and all of them are produced artificially. They are also called highly fluorinated substances or per- and polyfluorinated substances.
PFAS are used, for example, to impregnate clothes, to prevent your food from sticking to the frying pan, and they are also found in cosmetics and skin care.
What is problematic?
Many man-made substances can be degraded naturally over time. However, PFAS are an exception. Due to their extreme chemical stability and strong carbon-fluorine bonds, natural processes struggle to break them down. This makes PFAS particularly persistent in the environment.
Pfas can be easily spread in groundwater and drinking water. Once in the environment, they are absorbed by animals through food and water and accumulate in their blood and liver. Studies show that they can cause hormone disruption and cancer in rodents.
PFOS and PFOA are two of the most well-known substances within the PFAS group. They are also considered to be the most harmful. These substances have been found in our groundwater, among other things. Both of these substances are reprotoxic and suspected carcinogenic. PFOS and PFOA are now (with certain exceptions) banned in the EU. But unfortunately, new PFAS substances are constantly released from different manufacturers – substances that we do not yet know how they affect humans, animals and nature.
PFAS spread in nature and different varieties spread at different distances and at different rates. For example, PFAS have been found in the blood of polar bears in the Arctic. There is not yet as much research on how PFAS affect humans. It is known that it is stored in the liver, blood, lungs and kidneys. And the suspicion is that it affects our health negatively.
Where do you find PFAS?
PFAS can be found in clothing, shoes, makeup, skin care, furniture, food packaging, ski wax, electronic products, building materials and frying pans.
What does the Nordic Swan Ecolabel think about PFAS?
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel adheres to the precautionary principle. This means that, where there is not enough information about how a substance affects humans and the environment, we choose to exclude it rather than allow it. Thus, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel prohibits PFAS in cosmetic products, furniture, textiles, ski wax, building materials for Nordic Swan Ecolabelled houses and packaging for liquid foods.