3M's Scotchgard: 1960-2000, R.I.P
August 2, 2000
St. Paul, Minn. (USA) - 3M said it's phasing out the perfluorooctanyl chemistry used to produce Scotchgard® brand surfactant for upholstery after 40 years of building one of the best known global brands in the home furnishings industry. Just last year, 3M was reinvigorating the Scotchgard brand with an eight-figure consumer advertising expenditure with the campaign theme: ''Got a life? Gotta Ask for Scotchgard.''
The affected product lines represent approximately $320 million in sales or two percent of 3M's nearly $16 billion in annual business.
''Our decision anticipates increasing attention to the appropriate use and management of persistent materials,'' said Dr. Charles Reich, executive vice president, Specialty Material Markets.
Modern tests show that this persistent compound, like other materials in the environment, can be detected broadly at extremely low levels in the environment and in people. All existing scientific knowledge indicates that the presence of these materials at these very low levels does not pose a human health or environmental risk, 3M said. While 3M officials took credit for making the decision to terminate production of Scotchgard, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency said it had asked 3M to close it down based on its impact on the environment.
Mill customers said they will cease all Scotchgard programs at the end of year but will continue receiving support from 3M Scotchgard until then.
''We will switch to DuPont Teflon(r) or any number of unbranded products which treat fabrics against soiling, depending on what the retailer or manufacturer wants, a major fabric converter said. ''It's not a big problem for us.'' About 1,500 out of 3M's global work force of 71,000 employees have jobs associated with Scotchgard.
3M expects to meet consensus earnings estimates for the rest of 2000. This excludes a one-time charge on the order of $200 million that will be taken sometime this year.
The affected product lines represent approximately $320 million in sales or two percent of 3M's nearly $16 billion in annual business.
''Our decision anticipates increasing attention to the appropriate use and management of persistent materials,'' said Dr. Charles Reich, executive vice president, Specialty Material Markets.
Modern tests show that this persistent compound, like other materials in the environment, can be detected broadly at extremely low levels in the environment and in people. All existing scientific knowledge indicates that the presence of these materials at these very low levels does not pose a human health or environmental risk, 3M said. While 3M officials took credit for making the decision to terminate production of Scotchgard, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency said it had asked 3M to close it down based on its impact on the environment.
Mill customers said they will cease all Scotchgard programs at the end of year but will continue receiving support from 3M Scotchgard until then.
''We will switch to DuPont Teflon(r) or any number of unbranded products which treat fabrics against soiling, depending on what the retailer or manufacturer wants, a major fabric converter said. ''It's not a big problem for us.'' About 1,500 out of 3M's global work force of 71,000 employees have jobs associated with Scotchgard.
3M expects to meet consensus earnings estimates for the rest of 2000. This excludes a one-time charge on the order of $200 million that will be taken sometime this year.
