Fighting Formaldehyde: Yihang x Wanhua Chemical Champion Healthy Work

With social development and the impact of the pandemic, we now spend more time indoors, and indoor air pollution has become a major hidden threat to health. As everyone knows, formaldehyde is the leading factor in indoor air pollution and has been classified as a definitive carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization. In the fast pace of modern life, people increasingly work in office buildings, and relatively enclosed spaces make them more vulnerable to the dangers of excessive formaldehyde.

In home decoration, people pay particular attention to the eco-friendliness and healthfulness of renovation materials. Yet in the commercial office space sector, formaldehyde pollution receives far less attention. In fact, most office workers spend a third of every day in the office, where formaldehyde hazards bear directly on their physical and mental health. That is why Yihang Technology, a well-known commercial office furniture brand, has joined hands with Wanhua Chemical and others to champion "Healthy Work, Formaldehyde-Free Offices," calling on society to take the dangers of office formaldehyde seriously and urging the entire office furnishing supply chain to work together to build healthy spaces, so that working people can enjoy healthy breathing.

With the release of GB/T39600-2021, "Grading of Formaldehyde Emissions from Wood-Based Panels and Finished Products," on October 1, 2021, the new national ENF grade instantly became the world's most stringent environmental standard, safeguarding healthy work and life for all. The arrival of ENF has also given the "formaldehyde-free" concept a concrete basis (NF stands for "No Formaldehyde"). Strictly speaking, "formaldehyde-free" means "no added formaldehyde": using boards produced with formaldehyde-free adhesives (polyurethane adhesives) to make furniture eliminates, at the source, the long-term threat of formaldehyde release.

For years, Yihang Technology has been committed to creating green, healthy office spaces, always taking zero formaldehyde and intelligence as the focus of its technical research. Specifically, Yihang Technology has consistently insisted on selecting healthy base materials while continuously upgrading processes and standards to push the industry's environmental upgrade. As early as 2015, Yihang's innovative 7′Plus water-based finishing technology went into service, with VOC emissions only 10% of traditional PU lacquer—protecting the health of ordinary users while making a major contribution to the atmosphere. Yihang Technology has also upgraded its formaldehyde-reducing water-based paint, which effectively captures formaldehyde in the air and converts it, via covalent bonds, into new non-volatile, non-toxic compounds with a lasting purifying effect. In addition, Yihang Technology applies advanced 3D laser seamless edge-banding technology, a breakthrough over traditional processes: edge banding and boards bond permanently without glue or odor—genuine care for health.

As vice-chairman unit of the National Furniture Standardization Technical Committee, Yihang Technology has led the drafting or revision of 9 national or industry standards and participated in 37 international, national, and industry standards, while actively joining the drafting of 7 group standards such as "Zhejiang Manufacturing" and "Shenzhen Standard." Focused on healthy work, Yihang Technology is once again taking the lead—continuously upgrading technology and environmental standards, calling for an eco-upgrade across the healthy-office supply chain, and working to make "formaldehyde-free offices" a reality as soon as possible.

Going forward, Yihang will continue to insist on selecting healthy base materials and upgrading processes and standards, dedicated to building healthy work environments—so that every working professional can work in a "formaldehyde-free" ecological space, in dialogue with nature and breathing freely.