Green Pans: Where Are They Made?

GreenPan is a Belgian brand with an international reputation. It's the brainchild of two school friends: Jan Helskens and Wim De Veirman. The company manufactures its products in its own factories in Italy and China. The company has won numerous awards for its environmental safety, worker satisfaction, and overall standards.

GreenPan products are manufactured in the company's own factories in Italy and China

GreenPan is a Belgian brand and one of the pioneers in the ceramic non-stick cookware movement. The company was founded by Jan Helskins and Wim De Veirman, whose mission was to create safe non-stick cookware without using PFOA and PTFE. By 2008, they had the answer: Thermolon.

Thermolon is a diamond-reinforced coating used by GreenPan to make its cookware non-stick. The coating is made by a Sol-Gel process that results in forming a coating layer on the surface of the pan. This layer mainly comprises silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is the same composition as glass or sand. There are some additional materials, such as pigments that give the colour.

GreenPan has several ceramic non-stick collections, and each collection offers a different look and feel, but all use Thermolon as the non-toxic, non-stick surface.

GreenPan is a Belgian brand

The company's answer to this mission was Thermolon, a diamond-reinforced coating that makes its cookware non-stick. Thermolon is a coating derived from sand, which, according to the company, is safe for use in food contact coatings.

GreenPan has been recognised for its environmental safety, worker satisfaction, and overall standards, winning numerous awards. The company owns its factories in Italy and China, where it carefully controls the manufacturing process.

The brand has a diverse array of over ten cookware collections, each catering to varying styles, needs, and price points. GreenPan's design varies by collection, with the exteriors ranging from glossy to matte, and the handles made from materials such as brushed stainless steel, polished stainless steel, silicone-wrapped stainless steel, wood/Bakelite hybrid, or black plastic Bakelite.

GreenPan's cookware is designed in Belgium and manufactured in its own factory in China, where it can control the quality standards firsthand.

GreenPan's Thermolon coating is made in South Korea

GreenPan is a Belgian brand with an international reputation. It was founded by two school friends, Jan Helskens and Wim De Veirman, and is now available to purchase online and through national retailers like Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The original GreenPan cookware uses a patented Thermolon ceramic non-stick coating, which the company has advertised as "completely toxin-free", "healthy", and "free of PFOA, PFAS, lead, and cadmium". However, the company has faced scrutiny and lawsuits for these claims, with accusations of misrepresentation and greenwashing.

The Thermolon coating is made using a Sol-Gel process that results in a coating layer on the surface of the pan, which is primarily made of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), or glass/sand. There are some additional materials, such as pigments that give the colour.

While GreenPan does not disclose where the Thermolon coating is made, a source states that it is made in South Korea. The company manufactures its products in its own factories in Italy and China.

GreenPan's cookware is designed in Belgium

GreenPan is a Belgian brand and one of the pioneers in the ceramic non-stick cookware movement. The company was founded by Jan Helskins and Wim De Veirman, whose mission was to create safe non-stick cookware without the use of PFOA and PTFE.

The company's non-stick coating, Thermolon, is made by a Sol-Gel process that results in a coating layer mainly comprising silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is the same composition as glass or sand. There are some additional materials such as pigments that give the colour.

GreenPan cookware is designed in Belgium and manufactured in its own factory in China, where the company carefully controls the process. The company has won numerous awards for its environmental safety, worker satisfaction, and overall standards.

GreenPan's Thermolon coating is made by a Sol-Gel process

The Thermolon coating on GreenPans is made by a Sol-Gel process, which involves turning sand-derived raw materials into a solution and spraying it onto the pan. This process does not require the use of glue or numerous PFAS additives.

The Sol-Gel process is defined as a "wet chemical technique", which involves several steps, including hydrolysis and polycondensation, gelation, aging, drying, densification, and crystallisation.

The GreenPan website states that the Thermolon coating is made up of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), which is the same composition as glass or sand. However, it also states that there are some additional materials, such as pigments that give the pan its colour.

The Sol-Gel process is highly industrial and involves the use of metal and solvents. This means that the Thermolon coating may have heavy metals or toxic residues present, which could get into food if the pan is scratched or chipped.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against GreenPan in 2019, claiming that the Thermolon coating is not 100% toxin-free. The lawsuit listed several dangerous substances present in the Thermolon coating, including silane, aluminium oxide, tetraethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, and potassium titanate.

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