Forever Chemicals

A new podcast from Canada's National Observer tells the story of a firefighter’s wife and a corporate lawyer in different parts of the U.S. who get pulled into solving separate mysteries. 

Something was making cows die and deer haemorrhage to death in West Virginia. That same something could also be giving firefighters cancer – all over the country.

When the lawyer and the firefighter’s wife met, they found out they were worki...

Throughout this ten-part series, scientists, lawyers, advocates, and product producers all weighed in on our worldwide PFAS problem. While, yes, we have come a long way in understanding the scope of the issue and began moving away from PFAS, at least in the outdoor industry, many questions still remain. 

One of the primary questions is, what should we do with all the old PFAS already in the environment?

Guests featured in this epi...

Throughout this series, we’ve learned not only about how harmful PFAS is as a class of chemicals but also what the outdoor industry is doing to address the issue. While we may have started too late, we are on the right track now, but the work is far from over. 

Guests featured in this episode:

- Alex Lauver, ⁠⁠⁠Outdoor Research⁠⁠

- James Pollock,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Marten Law LLP⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Mike Schade,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Toxic Free Future⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Ammi Borenstein, ...

If you’ve listened to the Forever Chemicals podcast up until this point or followed the global contamination issue over the last few decades, then you’ll know the name Robert Bilott. 

In this exclusive season one BONUS episode, we hear from Robert Bilott on the current state of the PFAS problem. He emphasizes the crucial role of litigation and advocacy in pushing for necessary regulation, making it clear that our involvement is not...

It seems that many brands are moving in the right direction in terms of phasing PFAS out of their products, but one of the many aspects complicating this process is the potential for contamination.

In this episode, we hear directly from leading outdoor industry brands like Keen, Outdoor Research, Fjallraven, and Houdini Sportswear alongside scientists and environmental epidemiologists about how and why PFAS spreads and contaminate...

As we learned in earlier episodes, phase-out and regulatory efforts for PFAS were not swift, and they certainly are not complete.

However, because of the recent regulatory changes on consumer goods, specifically in California, many US-based outdoor brands and chemical companies have finally committed to removing PFAS from their products. 

Guests featured in this episode:

- Greg Brietmier, Mystery Ranch

- Mike Schade,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Toxic Fr...

The goal of this series is to provide useful information for consumers regarding PFAS, specifically within the outdoor industry, but also for those of us working in the industry. I learned from every single person that I interviewed and talked to about the topic of PFAS, and one of the patterns I noticed during production was that most of the European brands like Jack Wolfskin, Fjallraven, and Houdini Sportswear were early adopters...

As more regulations come into play, many outdoor brands have moved the needle and promised to phase PFAS out of their products and apparel by 2025. 

While this is great news, what’s curious as a consumer is that alternative chemistry has existed for quite some time. Brands like Nikwax never needed to use harmful chemicals to achieve waterproof capabilities, and now Nikwax is one brand leading the charge with industry-wide innovatio...

Regulatory efforts across the globe have been pushing for removing certain types of PFAS in specific product categories. Still, there are many limitations, and regulators often receive pushback from chemical companies.

In episode four of the Forever Chemicals ten-part podcast series, we break down the increase of PFAS regulation in the US and the EU, along with the limitations we face in the pursuit of cleaner chemistry.

Guests f...

In episode three of the Forever Chemicals ten-part podcast series, we give an overview of how PFAS is used in modern-day production, and get an inside look at why it became a performance chemistry in the outdoor industry.

In the first episode of this ten-part series, we explore where PFAS came from and how it became a prevalent part of our consumer products.

PFAS are a large class of chemicals that have been used since the late 1930s. What makes them particularly hazardous is that they are persistent and difficult to break down. That means all the PFAS that have even been created still exist today.