Little worry The big trouble with tiny particles
In 2019, Ikea announced it had developed curtains that it claimed could “break down common indoor air pollutants”. The secret, it said, was the fabric’s special coating. “What if we could use textiles to clean the air?” asked Ikea’s product developer, Mauricio Affonso, in a promotional video for “Gunrid” curtains.
After explaining that the coating was a photocatalyst (“similar to photosynthesis, found in nature”), Affonso is shown gazing up at the gauzy curtains while uplifting music plays. “It’s amazing to work on something that can give people the opportunity to live a healthier life at home.”
Puzzled by these claims – how could a mineral coating clean the air? – Avicenn, a French environmental nonprofit organisation, investigated. Independent laboratory tests
