Ikea’s Latest Product Fights Air Pollution Inside Homes

Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea is trying to improve indoor air quality in homes with its new product, Gunrid. It helps destroy indoor air pollution without using any electric power or complex filtering systems, says Fast Company’s Jesus Diaz. The Gunrid curtain instead works kind of like a houseplant and is activated when it comes into contact with light. Read more on the product below.

Gunrid is essentially a piece of fabric that’s been treated with a “mineral-based photocatalyst” that is activated when it comes into contact with light. It then destroys common indoor pollutants like odors and formaldehyde–a natural organic compound present in industrial resins and coatings and is a known carcinogen. As Ikea notes, other versions of this photocatalyst have been around before, but Ikea’s version is the first that can be activated by indoor light–not just sunlight. “Successful laboratory tests have been carried out to ensure that the photocatalyst coating works and that it is safe,” the company writes. “The next step is chamber tests and home tests to confirm that Gunrid efficiently removes volatile organic compounds in a room.”

The same technology can be applied to any fabric–which means that Ikea could eventually turn every sofa, bed, and linen product into a tool to fight toxic chemicals. Don’t run to Ikea just yet, though. The Swedish company has tested the technology under laboratory conditions for safety and effectiveness levels, but it is still in development and needs to go through exhaustive testing in chambers and actual homes.