Press release

Lawyers tell Tefal pan maker to transition away from PFAS – or risk being sued 

9 October 2026

  • Environmental lawyers are putting SEB, the company behind the Tefal pans, on notice over its outdated and inadequate approach to PFAS   

  • SEB now have three months to publicly commit to transition away from PFAS for its business and its workforce – or they could face legal action in French court  

  • The legal action would be the first to assert that industries which continue to buy and use PFAS are legally required to plan a transition to safer alternatives 

Environmental organisations ClientEarth, Générations Futures and Notre Affaire à Tous have put the French company Groupe SEB on legal notice because they believe it is failing to live up to its duties under French law. 

In particular, the French corporate responsibility law (the ‘Duty of Vigilance’) requires that companies identify the impacts their operations have on the environment, health and human rights, and put in place measures to prevent and mitigate those risks.

But according to the environmental organisations, SEB doesn’t adequately identify the risks linked to its use of forever chemicals – also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. The company’s ‘vigilance plan’ – which is part of its annual plan – is therefore believed to be missing adequate measures to prevent and mitigate the harms of PFAS to consumers and workers alike.

Groupe SEB brings together various brands, including Tefal cookware, Calor irons, and Moulinex appliances. Some of these products, particularly cookware like pots and pans, still include PFAS substances, even though safer alternatives exist and are in fact also sold by the company itself.

More specifically, SEB uses PTFE in its products, a PFAS which is extremely persistent in the environment. In company documents, SEB calls the PTFE safe. Yet, there is evidence showing that PTFE pose serious risks to the environment and people:

·       During its manufacture, PTFE releases various hazardous substances into the environment

·       During the manufacture of products such as frying pans, which incorporates PTFE, various PFAS substances are released in areas surrounding its factories

·       When consumers are using the products, especially if overheated or scratched, microplastics and PFAS are released from those products

·       PFAS substances may be released during the incineration of PTFE-coated products, after these products have been disposed of

ClientEarth lawyer Hélène Duguy said: “As awareness around PFAS has grown, Tefal pans have almost become synonymous with these chemicals. Yet, the company behind these pans doesn’t have a public plan to move away from these harmful substances – despite the existence of alternatives. 

“Factory workers, people living in areas near SEB factories and consumers are at risk of contamination. Regulations restricting the use of PFAS will be coming into force in the EU in the next few years, so there’s an opportunity for the company to get ahead of bans. As a world leader on cookware, SEB owes it to its workers and its reputation to plan a transition away from PFAS now.”

PFAS – known as forever chemicals, due to the near impossibility of eradicating them from the human body or the environment – are sparking global discussion on the wide array of harms they cause, and the action needed to stop them. Exposure to PFAS is associated with many health effects including cancer, infertility and diabetes, and other health impacts.

Groupe SEB now has 3 months to publicly identify all the risks related to their use of PFAS. After the 3-month countdown, legal action could be taken. 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Duty of Vigilance law

Based on well-established business and human rights standards approved by governments around the world at the UN Human Rights Council, the Duty of Vigilance law was adopted by the French legislature in 2017, in the wake of the Rana Plaza garment factory disaster that left over 1,000 people dead. 

Since then, the French Courts have begun interpreting and applying the law to different human rights and environmental harms in large companies’ operations and supply chains. Courts have found that the law requires oil majors to take into account the massive greenhouse gas emissions from their fossil fuel products, the respect of freedom of workers’ association against arbitrary dismissals, or the prohibition of undeclared work and the exploitation of undocumented workers. The law has been followed by similar mandatory due diligence legislation in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Norway and now, with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, at EU level.

The law provides a legislative basis to ensure that large companies proactively identify and address the impacts their operations and value chains cause, both for the benefit of affected people and for the long-term sustainability of the business.

In the notice letter, the organisations highlight the following problems with SEB's vigilance plan:

  • Inadequate risk mapping
  • Inadequate procedures for assessing the situation of subsidiaries, subcontractors and suppliers
  • The absence of appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate the risks arising from the production and use of PTFE in consumer products
  • A reporting mechanism designed without consultation with stakeholders
  • The absence of a genuine system for monitoring the effectiveness of the measures

Health impacts of PFAS

Throughout its lifecycle, PTFE releases various hazardous substances in the environment, including PFAS.

One of the key concerns with PFAS is their remarkable persistence. Once released, they can remain in the environment for years, moving between water, soil and air, contaminating ecosystems and entering food chains, with humans often exposed at the end of this chain through food and drinking water.

Many PFAS remain understudied, but those that have been researched in-depth have been linked with a host of significant health concerns including kidney, testicular, ovarian, prostate and thyroid cancers. They have also been linked with liver disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and reduced fertility in men and women. Early research also suggests a link between certain PFAS and neurological disorders, including autism and ADHD.

Foetuses, infants and children are particularly vulnerable due to their developing bodies – and children tend to have the highest PFAS levels.

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth works in over 50 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. We shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive. 

We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.