PFAS-free Cookware Brand Founder and CEO Joins Advocates Urging Assembly to Ban PFAS in Everyday Products
Assembly Now Only Has 9 Days to Match Senate Passage
New Addition to Series Launched: Forever Fables: Poly Cooks Up a New Home, a Picture Book Tale for Grown-Ups on the Danger of PFAS in Cookware
Albany (New York) - JustGreen Partnership members, legislators, and the Founder and CEO of Caraway Home, a nontoxic cookware brand free of PTFE and PFAS, took to the Capitol to urge the Assembly to bring the Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products (S.9073A Harckham - PASSED 2/10/26) / A.7738A (Glick) to a vote before the end of session. The Senate has already passed this bill with strong bipartisan support early in session. Advocates call for Speaker Carl Heastie to join the Senate in taking strong action in protecting New Yorkers against industry's intentional usage of toxic chemicals in their products.
Research continues to show that PFAS “forever chemicals” are harmful to our health and environment. These toxic “forever chemicals” have been known to cause reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, cancer, and more. The Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products bill bans PFAS from everyday products like cookware, dental floss, textiles, rugs, cleaning products, fabric treatments, ski wax, and architectural paint.
This session, the toxic nonstick cookware industry hired lobbyists to spread misinformation to the legislature about PFAS safety in their products. The industry asks regulators to accept a narrow definition of “safety” that ignores realistic use in homes and continued upstream and downstream pollution. These lies allow industry to deflect from the science and leaves room for consumers to be confused about the truth.
“New Yorkers should not have to worry that the products they use in their homes and on their bodies contain toxic chemicals linked to cancer, infertility, asthma, and other serious health harms,” said Environmental Conservation Committee Chair, Assemblymember Glick. “The Senate has already acted to pass both the Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products and the Beauty Justice Act, and I am grateful to Senator Webb and the many advocates and health experts who have helped move this fight forward. But with only days left in session, the Assembly must now bring these bills to the floor. New Yorkers are tired of industry misinformation and tired of being exposed to toxic chemicals that have no place in everyday consumer products, and cause a myriad of health problems.”
"Why use these chemicals in products like cookware when alternatives exist? It costs virtually the same to produce a PTFE-coated pan as it does a ceramic-coated pan. Consumers are increasingly concerned about forever chemicals in their cookware, personal care products, clothing, and cleaning supplies. The market is demanding alternatives and transparency. The ban on PFAS in Consumer Products will help drive innovation forward." said Jordan Nathan, Founder & CEO at Caraway Home
“It’s time to hold the cookware industry accountable for the dangerous chemicals it has used in its products since the 1950s,” said Kate Donovan, Northeast Environmental Health Director, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council.) “PTFE, also known as Teflon, can pose risks to families and pets, and the production of this cookware has contaminated drinking water in communities across the country, including our own Hoosick Falls, New York. This is yet another example of the public being sold convenience at the expense of health, and profits being put before people. The New York Assembly has failed to pass this bill for three years in a row. Enough is enough — it’s time for the Assembly to pass A7738A and keep these toxic chemicals out of our homes and away from our families, children, and pets.”
The Ban on PFAS in Consumer Products has passed the Senate and is in the Codes Committee in the Assembly.
To educate the public on the dangers of PFAS in cookware, advocates teamed up with FCB Cure, an advertisement and marketing agency, to create the second book in the Forever Fables Series, Poly Cooks Up a New Home. The book is an educational story about a not-so-fictional PFAS character named Poly, who finds their way to linger and roam into every aspect of our lives. Poly Cooks’ eerie storyline and illustrations educate readers on the danger of toxic nonstick cookware in our kitchen, highlighting the concern we should all have about PFAS infiltrating our everyday products.
“We are hearing about the dangers of PFAS forever chemicals in the news more often than not. Research continues to show that PFAS has no place in our everyday lives,” said Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director of Clean+Healthy and Co-leader of the JustGreen Partnership. “The Forever Fables series is an eye opener for readers. Poly personifies a complex toxic like PFAS, and allows readers to understand the dangers of PFAS from a consumer perspective. Removing toxic chemicals from the products we use everyday should not be up for debate. The Assembly has a responsibility to vote on bills their constituents care about and they are running out of time to make the choice to protect New Yorkers' health.”
Advocates also called on the Assembly to take action on a similar bill called the Beauty Justice Act S.2057B (Webb - Passed on 4/21/26) / A.2054B (Glick). This bill bans companies from using toxic chemicals including formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, PFAS, lead, mercury, and more from personal care products. These chemicals cause irreversible damage like infertility, asthma, and cancer. Because of racist beauty standards and strategic marketing, Black women and femme-identifying people of color have an even higher amount of harm with toxic chemicals in their personal care products.
Adocates reiterated the Senate has done their part to remove toxic chemicals from products. During their press conference, advocates asked the Assembly if they will start taking New Yorkers' health seriously or continue to allow industry to sell them lies in an effort to keep poisoning their consumers.
"New Yorkers are exposed to toxic 'forever chemicals', like PFAS, each and every day, and in ways that most people don't even realize," said Caitlin Ferrante, Conservation Program Manager, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. "By banning harmful chemicals from the products we use each day, we will be taking these now ubiquitous toxins out of our environment, improving public health and reducing the costs associated with downstream pollution. Passage of A.7738-A will help limit multiple pathways of toxic PFAS exposures in the products we buy, in the water we drink, and the communities we live in. The Sierra Club urges immediate passage in the Assembly before they gavel out next week."
New York’s businesses and economy are threatened by PFAS poisoning. These chemicals accumulate in our waterways, impacting our food system, tourism, and other key business sectors,” said Bob Rossi, Executive Director of the New York Sustainable Business Council. “Many businesses across industries have found that producing products without PFAS is both safer and profitable. The business community is beyond ready. We urge the Assembly to pass this important legislation without delay.
"New Yorkers deserve the peace of mind that when they cook dinner in the evening, they won't be exposed to toxic chemicals that could make them sick," said Rob Hayes, Senior Director of Clean Water with Environmental Advocates NY. "Other states have already passed bills banning cancer-causing PFAS in cookware and other household products; it's time for New York to follow suit. The Assembly must pass A7738-A this session to turn off the tap on PFAS and put a stop to contamination that harms people and our environment."
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The JustGreen Partnership is a 19 year old collaboration of environmental justice, environmental health, environmental health affected, children’s, and business organizations working for environmental health and justice for New York’s people and communities. Learn more here.
