Why Milliken uses the term Non PFAS

Watch your language: Why Milliken uses the term "Non-PFAS" instead of "PFAS-Free"

In a recent blog post we noted that Milliken Textiles had removed PFAS chemicals from our fibers and finishes portfolio. We’re very proud of that. In this post we’ll discuss it again, for a single reason: When we talk about PFAS, we always use specific language. We say that we have “removed PFAS chemicals,” or that we have developed “non-PFAS chemistries.” The terminology is crucial, and here’s why:

There is no such thing as a “PFAS-free” product.

It’s important to understand the distinction between the terms “PFAS-free” and “non-PFAS.” The key point is this: PFAS are forever chemicals. They never break down.

Given that the release of PFAS into the environment has been so prevalent through the years — through manufacturing, for example, or discarded household trash —it can be found in surface water, groundwater, soil, and air. PFAS travels freely, remaining intact almost forever. In a sense we can think of a “PFAS cycle” in the same way we think of the “water cycle.” Water goes from groundwater to streams, rivers, oceans … followed by evaporation, rain, and back into groundwater. If groundwater contains PFAS — and it does — we’re stuck with them. The key is mitigating the problem, so it doesn’t keep getting bigger.  

Sometimes PFAS content is miniscule. But it’s still there.

Often, we’re talking about extraordinarily low levels of PFAS. For drinking water, the current EPA standard recommends concentrations of no more than 70 parts per trillion. That’s the equivalent of about 70 drops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Not much. But if you’re testing to that degree of accuracy, any manufacturer who uses water (and who doesn’t?) is going to have at least some PFAS, however tiny, in the resulting product. Think of it in the same way you might differentiate “sugar-free” from “no sugar added.” Our textiles are “no PFAS added.” We do not contribute to PFAS content in the manufacturing of our products.

At Milliken, precision has always been a core principle. It’s fundamental to every product we make —and to the way we talk about them.