Scientists Find A Market Ready Replacement For PFAS

A new substitute for forever chemicals is non-toxic material is water- and oil-resistant, … More sustainable and affordable.

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It’s one of those quiet realities of modern life: we unwrap our sandwich or sip from a paper cup, unaware that the packaging protecting our food might be leaching harmful chemicals. For decades, food packaging has relied on PFAS — a family of so-called ‘forever chemicals’ — to keep oil and water from soaking through paper products. But as we now know, PFAS don’t stay neatly in the packaging. They linger in our environment, our water, and even our bloodstreams, with growing links to serious health risks.

On Tuesday, scientists at Northwestern University announced what they hope will be a safe replacement for forever chemicals. They’ve developed a new material derived from graphene oxide, which they believe may offer the first truly safe, sustainable, and effective alternative to PFAS in food packaging.

Why PFAS Are Everywhere

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals used to repel oil and water. First used in the 1930s and 40s with the invention of teflon, they are now everywhere: in fast food wrappers, takeout boxes, candy wrappers, sandwhich bags and even compostable-looking plates. Quite simply, PFAS are highly effective and to date industry has not been able to find a substitute.

PFAS Harm Health, Especially In Kids

These forever chemicals can and do migrate into our food, even when kept at cold temperatures. And they don’t break down in the environment or the human body. In fact, they may accumulate in vulnerable tissues like the brain, where scientists have found PFAS have neurotoxic effects. (Brown-Leung 2022) They’ve been linked to hormone disruption, immune system effects, and even certain cancers. According to a 2022 report from the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine, biomonitoring surveys have found that over 98% of Americans have detectable amounts of forever chemicals in their blood and tissues.

Meanwhile, parents and pediatricians like myself, find forever chemicals a constant source of worry. How are we supposed to protect our children when they are closer to the floor, being exposed to PFAS loaded stain resistant carpets and house dust? Children are at greater risk to negative effects from forever chemicals because they are smaller, spend more time close to the floor and have differences in food and water intake from adults. Most importantly, they are growing and developing, which means they are being exposed at a vulnerable time and have a lot more years to develop problems.

The NASEM report found an association between chronic PFAS exposure in children and multiple health concerns. These included slightly lowered weight at birth, elevated blood cholesterol levels, and reduced antibody response to certain vaccines/infections. In another study, maternal exposure to forever chemicals was associated with child neurodevelopmental difficulties. (England-Mason 2024) PFAS exposures in early life can act as endocrine-disruptors, effecting thyroid, steroid hormones and even testerone and estrogen levels. (Ames 2025)

A Workable Replacement For PFAS

That’s where graphene oxide comes in.

In a collaboration led by Timothy Wei, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, and SonBinh Nguyen, professor of chemistry, the Northwestern team created a coating made from oxidized carbon sheets just one atom thick. The result? A material that the study authors consider:

• Non-toxic
• Compostable
• Recyclable
• Affordable
• And astonishingly effective — improving oil and water resistance and increasing paper strength by 30–50%

Better still, it doesn’t just work in the lab. Their startup, GO-Eco, has moved the material through third-party testing at Western Michigan University, and is now preparing for full-scale production with a national tableware manufacturer. It’s not just innovation — it’s a market-ready solution.

Is Graphene Oxide Really Non Toxic vs PFAS?

One of the problems with adding new chemicals to food packaging is that we don’t know what we don’t know. While the researchers behind this breakthrough may consider their product non toxic, its worth noting that the people who discovered the forever chemicals thought the same thing.

Indeed, graphene oxide is already used in biomedicine and cosmetics, yet it is known to have a potential toxic effect on living cells and organs. Graphene oxide can be toxic, or minimally toxic, or potentially non toxic depending on what chemical form it is in and what dose the body is exposed to. (Rhazouani 2021)

It’s clear we need more testing, especially in children, of this exciting new material.

A Revolution In How We Think About Safety

As a mother and a pediatrician, I really hope this new material is the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. And I am struck by the way it reflects a quiet revolution in how we think about safety.

Because this isn’t just about takeout containers and plastic forks. It’s about reimagining how we live — and refusing to accept that the price of convenience should be hidden toxins and long-term risk.

GO-Eco’s material may never make headlines the way PFAS bans have. But if they succeed, it could mean a world where parents don’t need to wonder what’s in the sippy cup their toddler is chewing. A world where sustainability doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. A world where science earns trust by solving the problems it once helped create.

As the graphene oxide project moves forward — seeking FDA approval and expanding production — I’m reminded of what progress really looks like. Not a single heroic cure, but a steady, evidence-based shift toward something safer, smarter, and more human.

Sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs start with something as small as taking PFAS our of a child’s candy wrapper.

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