Detoxifying chemistry for a circular future
Today's guest blog is authored by Jon Smieja of the GreenBiz Group. The original post can be read here.
3M made news in December, announcing it will end the manufacture of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (a.k.a. PFAS) by the end of 2025. For those of us who have been concerned about toxic chemistries common in everyday products, this is great news, even if decades late.
PFAS, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals" due to their stability in the environment, have long been under fire from environmentalists and human health advocates due to their potential for toxicity. Sustainability professionals and leading companies have been working toward elimination of these chemicals from products ranging from fast food wrappers to building products for more than a decade. The connection between 3M and PFAS has long been an issue here in my home state of Minnesota, where elevated levels of the…