Why use PFAS to begin with?
PFAS is an acronym which stands for Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances. These substances have been widely used in industry and consumer products since the late 1940s. They are often used to make durable coatings in products designed to resist heat, oil, stains, and water. In popular media PFAS is often referred to as “forever chemicals”. These substances do not break down in the environment and can contaminate soil, water, and wildlife.
We believe that choosing sustainable materials is essential for the good stewardship of the outdoors and to create a worthy legacy for future generations. That’s why we are fully committed to reaching a PFAS-free goal by 2025.
It takes a significant amount of time to develop new products with new formulations. We look forward to sharing updates in a timely manner as we have more information to share regarding our PFAS-free timeline.
Some may ask why we would choose to include these chemicals in some of our products to begin with. The honest answer is that these chemicals create extremely durable and repellant coatings. Like many others, we selected materials and coatings based on product performance. Until recently, virtually all of the available highest-performing water resistant coatings contained PFAS across the industry.
What about other chemicals such as flame retardants?
Our Sustainability Initiatives report outlines the responsible actions we have taken to date and our path toward a sustainable future. We are committed to minimizing the social and environmental impacts of our products, suppliers, and operations through better materials, safer chemicals, and smarter packaging.
Cascade Designs’ product line is moving to a PFAS-free state through a combination of actions: Some products will be permanently discontinued from the product line. Many products will have reformulated PFAS-free coatings and treatments. Other products that have PFAS in components such as bags and stuff sacks will be updated with PFAS-free components. All products that are reformulated to be PFAS-free will be re-released under new SKU’s and part numbers.
The transition to using PFAS-free materials will take time as we strategically and deliberately source alternatives. We are working closely with our supply chain partners to identify all products affected and alternative materials that meet our industry-leading durability and performance standards.
Sustainability has long been a priority for Cascade Designs and our brands. There are a multitude of products across our brands that are recyclable, use environmentally preferred materials, or limit chemicals and toxic substances.
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MSR water storage systems are free of BPA, BPS and phthalates, additives commonly found in plastics that have been linked to negative health effects.
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Our stoves, tents, water treatment devices, cookware and snowshoes feature components that can easily be repaired and/or recycled.
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We also partner with material certification agencies and initiatives like the Responsible Down Standard and suppliers like Nikwax to find better and more sustainable material sourcing for our sleeping bags.
We also know that customers have concerns around flame retardants (FRs) in products. That is why we actively participate in the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Chemical Management Working Group (CMWG). Our team participated in the Flame Retardant Task Force, which focuses on disseminating knowledge to other OIA members as well as to regulatory agencies and the public.
Developed in alignment with BLUESIGN®, OEKO-TEX, and REACH standards help us protect our customers, employees and the environment from hundreds of harmful substances. We require our suppliers to comply with our restricted chemicals list and audit to ensure compliance. The Restricted Substance Lists are constantly evolving as we engage with new toxicology research and regulations.
Additionally, MSR was a founding member of the Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group, a coalition of more than 300 outdoor brands, suppliers and manufacturers dedicated to addressing our most important sustainability challenges. This group launched the Higg Index, our industry’s first sustainability measurement tool. MSR was one of the first hard goods brands to voluntarily use the Higg Index to examine our practices in material traceability, chemical management, social responsibility and other core competencies.