Did you know that many products made with PFAS…can already be made without PFAS? Industry may think that toxic “forever chemicals” will make them “forever profits,” but many manufacturers have already adopted safer chemicals. On October 9, 2025, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorow hosted a Show and Tell at the Massachusetts State House, with examples of products containing PFAS–and the very same product without PFAS.
We bought diapers, band-aids, condoms, eye shadow, shaving cream, razors, paints and hauled out our old raincoats, frying pans and car seats to show legislators examples of products with and without PFAS. We asked our architect friends to provide samples of vinyl flooring with PFAS and resilient flooring without PFAS. We didn’t have the budget to buy PFAS-containing and PFAS-free mattresses and waffle makers, but Laurie Nehring, founder of People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment, researched options and created display boards. Nehring lives in Ayer, one of the first Massachusetts communities found to have high levels of PFAS in its drinking water.
And it’s not just consumer products that can be made PFAS-free. Many clean energy products have PFAS, but we found that virtually every clean energy product with PFAS is now being made without PFAS. That includes photovoltaic panels, windmills, fuel cells, heat pumps, and more. Even more exciting, many of the innovative businesses making PFAS-free clean energy products are located right here in Massachusetts.
Consumers don’t want products that will make them and their families sick. Insurers don’t want to cover the costs of insuring product with known toxics. That’s why more manufacturers are finding innovative ways to eliminate this toxic class of chemicals.
Photos by Tim O’Brien Used with permission
