Facial Tissue like Kleenex Tested for Indications of PFAS -- Guide

Mamavation | Healthy Living | Lifestyle | Detoxify Home | Product Recommendations

June 18, 2024 // by Leah Segedie printed boxes

Which brands of facial tissue like Kleenex produce the safest products without indications of PFAS “forever chemicals?” This was the question we were attempting to answer when we sent some of the most popular facial tissue paper brands to our independent EPA-certified laboratory. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you other consumer studies like safest olive oils tested for toxic phthalates, safest diapers tested for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals,” and best water purifiers filtering PFAS “forever chemicals,” now join us for another consumer study on indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and tissue paper.

Disclosure: This consumer study is released in partnership with Environmental Health News. This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. Donations were provided by Environmental Health News and Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. Affiliate links from this post are mostly to Amazon where Mamavation earns a small portion of that sale. Mamavation uses affiliate revenue and ad revenue from Mamavation.com to pay for testing and fund other consumer investigations in the future. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you for supporting Mamavation! Copyright © 2024 Mamavation — All Rights Reserved

Mamavation’s EPA-certified laboratory found indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” after analyzing popular facial tissues on the market today. PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that have been used for many decades as stain-resistant, oil-resistant, grease-resistant, & water-resistant chemicals in commerce.

PFAS are found in many other areas of our homes with some examples being cookware, makeup, drinking water, contact lenses & dental floss. These chemicals are linked to serious health effects, which we will discuss later. Because PFAS are so toxic, Mamavation has commissioned our own scientific studies on indications of PFAS in products to make recommendations for facial tissues using PFAS-free materials that you can use during the cold & flu season or allergy season. Read Mamavation’s report (see below) on these products to find which brands are organic-fluorine-free when you have a runny nose or watery eyes.

For this consumer study, Mamavation sent 13 facial tissue products from 13 brands to an EPA-certified laboratory looking for indications of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals.” Here’s what we found:

It’s clear from the reporting we received from our EPA-certified laboratory that claims of “sustainability” or something similar have no bearing on traces of organic fluorine, which is an indicator of PFAS “forever chemicals.” Therefore, just because your box of facial tissue has a sustainable claim doesn’t mean they are avoiding all indications of PFAS. Our research also suggests that bamboo versions of facial tissue may have additional contamination issues that may not be shared by larger or more conventional tissue brands.

PFAS “forever chemicals” are problematic for human health and the environment. They are considered ubiquitous, persistent, and toxic. In fact, many of these PFAS chemicals can last for years or decades in our bodies. The health effects from exposure to PFAS on open wounds are unknown, but this would be a unique way for them to easily get into our bodies. It’s also unknown what happens when PFAS get absorbed into our tissues and travels around in our bodies. However, we do know that these areas can be vulnerable to toxic chemicals like PFAS “forever chemicals” in general. Therefore, it’s imperative to reduce the amount of PFAS you are exposed to from food, water, and consumer products like facial tissues. Mamavation is dedicated to helping you do that when you are shopping for facial tissues.

Here are some of the health effects associated with different PFAS “forever chemicals:”

It’s also very clear based on biomonitoring evidence from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that PFAS are in all Americans. Therefore, these exposures can harm most Americans.

PFAS chemicals have been used for decades to create stain resistance, water resistance, and grease-proof qualities in products to which they are added. If you’ve heard of coatings such as “Teflon” on cookware, fabrics made from “Gore-Tex” or treatments on carpets like STAINMASTER®, you’ve already heard about PFAS chemicals. Here’s more of what you may not have been aware of:

Before we launch into the raw data from our lab, we wanted to remind you about all the other studies we have done on indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” inside the food and consumer products you may bring into your home. Each one of these studies was performed in a similar fashion as this study with brands sent independently to the lab and the raw data of those labs presented at the bottom of the post.

Facial Tissues were purchased or donated from community members between January 2023 and April 2024. Our EPA-certified laboratory received and tested each box of facial tissues we sent. No products were donated by the manufacturer. Many types of facial tissue were represented — some of these brands were lotion-free, dye-free, soft, hypoallergenic, or sustainable however, each brand is made for daily use. Some facial tissue boxes were donated to a local community center because we received more than we could test, i.e. many of the same brand of facial tissue was received when purchased online.

Scott Belcher, Ph.D. & Associate Professor with the Center for Environmental & Health Effects of PFAS at North Carolina State University says “fluoropolymers, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), are extremely common forms of PFAS that could be contributing to the organic fluorine found in facial tissues. Methods used for detecting individual PFAS, such as PFOA or GenX, cannot directly identify PTFE. However, the analysis of total organic fluorine (TOF) does account for all PFAS contaminants in facial tissues, including PTFE. Therefore, this method of testing serves as a good ‘spot-check’ of consumer products.”

These facial tissue products were sent to our EPA-certified laboratory and it was reported back they had detections of organic fluorine, which is indicative of PFAS “forever chemicals.”

These facial tissue products were sent to our EPA-certified laboratory and it was reported back they had non-detect organic fluorine results. The detection limit of the testing was 10 ppm and thus anything under that amount would not be detectable to our lab. However, based on the materials used, they were deemed to be “better” and not “best” based on the less environmentally friendly inputs used. They are more representative of regular tissues, but some may be soft tissues or sensitive skin tissues.

I hope this tissue brand will become more widely known.

Have you tested the Field Day brand? It is a UNFI product.

Thank you so much for testing and raising awareness about this issue. Keep up the amazing work!!

I wonder if Puffs (simple not with lotion) is safe. Have you tested that one?

Don’t put me on advertising lists. Thank you.

I’m wondering about Puffs too because that is the brand I use.

Thank you for testing Kleenex-like tissues. Why was Kleenex brand not tested? PLEASE test Kleenex brand tissues.

It was tested, look at “Better” brands. I sent her the sample LOL

She only tested the extra soft, not the regular one. It’s a little disappointing, especially since it was mentioned specifically by brand-name.

Seventh Generation 100% Recycled Facial Tissues Whitened without Chlorine Bleach 2-Ply Tissue…Really?

I don’t use any recycled paper products, because I found out a long time ago that all recycled paper products contain BPA.

Thank you very much for the valuable info!

This must be a woman website. Jumping back and forth through multiple topics on each paragraph. No focus and thus waste of time to try to follow and get any useful information. You really should hire some real men. Remove me.

Thanks for this testing. Hope toothpaste PFAS test can be done as well since it’s something we all use everyday in our mouths.

It HAS been tested. Look through the list of items tested.

I bought Cheeky Panda tissues because you rated their toilet paper as a good product. Now that I know it’s not, from now on I will be getting Caboo Tree Free Tissues from vitacost.com which I like a lot better than Amazon.

thank you for testing tissues. what about the packs of Kleenex brand tissues 10 boxes 230 2 ply tissues per box that you can buy from Costco. we’ve gotten those for years & use lots of tissue all the time! what about Giant brand tissues?thank you for your studies of toilet paper,floss etc. what about oral B Pulsar battery powered toothbrushes?

Thank you for testing these, Leah! Happy Kleenex came back pretty clean as they sell that at Costco, surprising Cheeky panda’s tissue came back with PFAS considering their toilet paper doesn’t…wonder what Bim Bam Boo’s testing would come in at.

That’s the Kleenex by also the regular, not the ultrasoft

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