Question from Cheryl

I am interested in buying  a sofa from Pottery Barn.  There are fabrics available there that are called Performance fabrics. That sounds good because there will be kids and pets and a stain resistant fabric would be great. However, I have to wonder how fabric is treated to be called Performance. Is there a toxicity issue I should be aware of?

Lisa’s Answer

Performance fabric implies that it is stain repellent.  According to O Ecotextiles, all stain repellent finishes are based on fluorotelmer chemistry, which means it pertains to chemicals which become perfluorocarbons (PFCs) when released into the environment.  There are newer stain repellent finishes that are claiming to be safer and less bioaccumulative.  Though safer than older formulations, there is little human data to support just how safe they are.  I would steer clear.