I had no idea goretex and elixir strings were related and equally no idea that they are both Teflon derivatives. Disappointed to learn that.
Teflon is a PFAS. You can research both Teflon and PFAS and you’ll almost immediately find studied on adverse health and environmental impacts. Teflon accumulates in the body over time, we have no way of eliminating it from our bodies. And many PFAS including Teflon remain the environment indefinitely and readily dissolve in water.
Despite the obvious profit motive and huge companies selling these chemicals, like DuPont, even American government agencies like the USDA and CDC have published studies linking PFAS to cancer, neuropathies, and other effects.
PFAS on cookware obviously has an easy pathway into people, but PFAS production results in PFAS pollution in the environment. Given its negative effects and its near infinite lifespan, water solubility, and subsequent ability to accumulate in ever increasing quantities, PFAS production should be immediately halted for all use cases that are not involved in life saving or similarly critical systems, and alternative substances must be researched for those use cases so we can phase PFAS out completely.
@freagle Thanks for all that info. I hadn’t really thought much about it. The EPA pages have a lot of info.
So you’re disappointed that your favorite guitar strings are made with a coating that likely has bad health and environmental effects?
Upset my favorite hiking boot material, which I use to aid in my appreciation of the natural world, permanently harms the world I’m appreciating
@freagle Fair enough. I used elixir strings when I was in high school. Eventually I decided paying double for a special coating was not worth it. Sounds like now in hind-sight that was a good decision.
I’m not sure why you have downvotes. I found this out a few years back and was also disappointed for the same reason. I believe PFAS are also found in some backcountry ski skin waxes which was even more disappointing to me.
If something is slippery or waterproof it is has a very good chance of containing some sort of PFAS. They are in clothes both as part of fabric and waterproof coating. The same goes for upholstery and carpets. Also in makeup. They are used in nonstick pans and in a ton of food packaging. They are everywhere. I agree that manufacture needs to stop and think DuPont et al need to pay for cleanup at the very least.
