Zeeland, Mich.-based office furniture manufacturer MillerKnoll will make its North American products free of any added per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances starting in May 2025, executives announced this week.
The company will integrate criteria related for the products, also known as PFAS, for safer alternatives into design and safety processes to "exceed consumer expectations and meet increasing regulatory demands for chemical transparency."
The change applies to the production of new products but excludes electrical components, protective stone coating, Ethospace and Pixel pneumatic cylinders, and existing inventory.
MillerKnoll says it is the first office furniture company to eliminate PFAS.
"Today we have very little inventory that includes added PFAS," Gabe Wing, MillerKnoll's vice president of sustainability, said in a statement. "We're committing to not adding any PFAS to our products in North America from May of next year and to extend this commitment globally by fiscal year 2027 ahead of future regulations."
PFAS are resistant to heat, water, oil and grease and are known as "forever chemicals" because their components break down very slowly over time.
Since January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has increased action and regulations around PFAS. The EPA released its final Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) Plan 15 in January 2023, which included the announced expansion of the ongoing study of PFAS discharges from textile manufacturers.
Manufacturing with PFAS-free materials can lower levels of the chemicals in buildings, which can reduce indoor PFAS exposures, according to a 2022 study from the American Chemical Society.
"At MillerKnoll, our products meet or exceed global PFAS regulations, but we are dedicated to setting the pace in creating products and spaces that go beyond minimum safety standards," Wing said.