Albany: Meet Poly!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2025
CONTACT: Jasmine Phillip, Clean+Healthy, jasmine@cleanhealthyny.org
Coming to a Little Free Library Near You:
Meet Poly! Advocates Launch Picture Book Series to Engage Public About Poly - Aka PFAS “Forever Chemicals”
The PFAS Education Book Highlights the Dangers of PFAS in our everyday lives, pushing for Legislators to Pass Slate of PFAS Bills by the End of Session
(ALBANY, N.Y.) — As of today, you will notice a new picture book, Forever Fables written by FCB Cure and Clean+Healthy pop up by your local Little Free Library in Albany, NY. By the illustrations, you might think this is a children's book; it’s quite the opposite. Forever Fables is an “tale for grown ups” — an educational story about a not-so-fictional PFAS character named Poly, who finds their way to linger and roam into every aspect of our lives. PFAS are a class of “forever chemicals” that contribute to health conditions like: hormone disruption, infertility, organ disruption, and even cancer. The toxic chemical can be found in personal care products like lotion, make-up, shaving cream, ect; and everyday consumer products like: cookware, rugs, textiles, dental floss, ski wax, and more. For more information, check out foreverfables.org
The book's eerie storyline and illustrations educate readers on the dangers of PFAS in our everyday lives; highlighting the concern we should all have about PFAS infiltrating our everyday products. Advocates shared copies of the story around the Capitol to Legislators, citing the importance of supporting and passing key bills addressing PFAS in personal care/cosmetic products and in everyday consumer products.
“PFAS forever chemicals are nearly everywhere in our daily lives - in our homes, workplaces, and too often, our drinking water. Nearly all of us have PFAS in our bodies right now. And nearly every day a new scientific paper gives us a clearer picture of the harms PFAS can do. Urgent action is needed to tackle this gigantic problem that has been decades in the making,” said Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director of Clean+Healthy. “But talking about “per and polyfluoroalkyl substances” - the wonky name for a class of over 15,000 individual chemicals - can honestly cause people’s eyes to glaze over. Hence, the birth of ‘Poly’ in storybook format - to help us all understand the problem before us and inspire everyone to take action.”
In addition, advocates also released a Whitepaper called PFAS: The Meaning of “Forever”. Its research provides scientific context as to where PFAS are found and why the “forever chemicals” need to be eliminated from our products to protect ourselves and the environment.
PFAS are no stranger to the Capital Region. In 2014, after wanting to find the cause of a family member's illness, a resident of Hoosick Falls found high levels of PFAS had polluted their drinking water. Later turned into a class action lawsuit, it was determined that the contamination came from run off from a nearby manufacturing plant. This example shows the importance of acting before PFAS damage can be done to residents of New York State.
You will be able to find the story in many of the 40 Little Free Libraries all around Albany starting May 19, 2025. Embargoed copies can be shared upon request.
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Clean+Healthy is an environmental health and justice advocacy organization based in Albany, NY with a mission to build a just+healthy world where toxic chemicals are simply unthinkable. Learn more at cleanandhealthy.org
