Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk around, the WHO says-- leading Ikea to develop a set of curtains promising to tackle indoor air pollution, an issue estimated to lead to no less than 4.3 million deaths worldwide.
Dubbed Gunrid, the curtains feature a textile able to break down common indoor air pollutants, such as odours and formaldehyde. As the furniture maker puts it, the Gunrid textile features a coating of mineral-based photo catalyst. Co-developed with universities in Europe and Asia, the coating is activated by light, be it from the sun and indoor sources, and promises to be safe for human use.
“Many people know that outdoor air pollution can be a problem, but not many are aware that indoor air can be as bad, or even worse than the outdoor air. That is why we see it as our responsibility to bring awareness to the problems associated with indoor air pollution, this way people can do something about it,” Ikea says. “We wanted to create a simple, convenient and affordable way to clean air that wouldn’t take up much space in people’s homes."
Currently the company is carrying out chamber tests and home tests to confirm Gunrid efficiently removes volatile organic compounds in a room. Once said tests are over, Gunrid air purifying curtains will hit the retailer in 2020.
