Championing Formaldehyde-Free Offices: Yihang's Healthy Work Mission Upgraded

With rapid development and the pandemic keeping people indoors longer, indoor air pollution has become a major hidden threat to health. And as everyone knows, formaldehyde is the leading factor in indoor air pollution — classified as a definitive carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization.

In the fast-paced economy, people are accustomed to concentrated office work, and sealed office buildings make them even more vulnerable to excessive formaldehyde. Surveys show that most professionals spend more than a third of each day in the office, making office formaldehyde a significant hazard to their physical and mental health.

Saying no to formaldehyde: users call for formaldehyde-free offices

In recent years, formaldehyde-free work has become the shared wish of office workers and an important measure of how companies care for their people. How do you create a formaldehyde-free, healthy office environment? Industry professionals say you must find the sources of formaldehyde release and control them. In the office environment, formaldehyde can come from many things — walls, carpet, appliances, office furniture… Substandard substrates or production processes can all release formaldehyde.

Take the boards (substrates) in office furniture, which are mainly particleboard or MDF. The glue used to produce them consists mainly of urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde resins, both synthesized with formaldehyde. These synthetic chemical materials are structurally unstable, and in use they decompose, releasing a certain amount of free formaldehyde. The startling fact: the release cycle lasts up to 15 years.

Creating a formaldehyde-free office therefore requires many parties to join hands. The establishment of World No-Formaldehyde Day on April 26, 2015, already sent a positive signal. Beyond that, on October 1, 2021, the grading standard for formaldehyde emissions of wood-based panels and finished products was released, and the new national ENF grade instantly became the strictest environmental standard in the world, safeguarding everyone's healthy work and life. The arrival of the ENF grade also gave the “formaldehyde-free” concept a concrete basis (NF stands for “No Formaldehyde”). “Formaldehyde-free” now has a new definition: “no added formaldehyde” — furniture made from boards produced with formaldehyde-free adhesives (polyurethane adhesives), solving the long-term release threat at its source.

Championing healthy offices: Yihang Technology advances against formaldehyde

“Everyone is working to create formaldehyde-free office spaces — globally known office furniture brands control formaldehyde release rigorously throughout production — and Yihang Technology is undoubtedly a representative of that effort.” So says one industry insider.

As a leading office furniture brand, Yihang Technology takes “everything for healthy offices” as its mission, dedicated to creating green, healthy workspaces for users, with zero formaldehyde and intelligence as its key technical priorities. It consistently selects healthy substrates and keeps upgrading processes and standards to advance healthy offices. At the same time, it works with upstream partners such as Wanhua Chemical and Chen Zhan Technology to champion “healthy work, formaldehyde-free offices,” calling on the office furniture supply chain to jointly build healthy spaces where professionals can breathe freely.

As early as 2015, Yihang's innovative 7′Plus water-based finishing technology went into service, with VOC emissions just 10% of traditional PU lacquer — protecting ordinary users' health while making a real contribution to the atmosphere.

Yihang also upgraded its formaldehyde-reducing water-based paint, which effectively “captures” formaldehyde in the air and binds it into new non-volatile, non-toxic compounds through covalent bonds, delivering a lasting formaldehyde-purifying effect.

In addition, Yihang Technology uses advanced 3D laser seamless edge banding, breaking through traditional processes to achieve a permanent, seamless bond between the edge band and the board. No glue, no odor — truly caring for healthy offices.

As markets and customer needs keep changing, Yihang Technology honors its invisible commitments, strictly controlling product quality and environmental standards — earning ISO9001 quality management, ISO14001 environmental management, and ISO45001 occupational health and safety certifications, plus China Green Product certification, CQC environmental product certification, and GREENGUARD certification — so customers can buy with confidence and use with peace of mind.

As vice-chair of the National Technical Committee on Furniture of Standardization Administration, Yihang Technology has also led the drafting (or revision) of 9 national or industry standards, participated in 37 international, national, and industry standards, and contributed to 7 group standards such as “Zhejiang Manufacturing” and “Shenzhen Standard,” continuing to push formaldehyde-free offices forward.

On the road to formaldehyde-free offices, it is precisely because well-known brands like Yihang Technology keep working with supply chain partners to develop and apply new materials, innovate processes and technologies, and strengthen standardization — office environments will grow ever healthier, and “formaldehyde-free work” will become a blessing for everyone who works.