Collaboration shows how the carpet industry’s reliance on forever chemicals in the South polluted a region

Five newsrooms joined forces to investigate the toxic legacy of the U.S. carpet manufacturing industry, producing revelatory journalism for readers and viewers and a master class in collaboration.

“Forever Stained” began when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution approached AP’s Local Investigative Reporting Program with insider documents detailing how the quest for stain resistance drove multibillion-dollar carpet manufacturers to use per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The chemicals — often called “forever chemicals” because they do not easily break down — have contaminated northwest Georgia and surrounding communities.

The partnership grew into a sweeping, multiformat report: an AJC/AP mainbar co-bylined by Jason Dearen; an AP investigation by Michael Phillis and Helen Wieffering examining PFAS contamination in private drinking water wells; a FRONTLINE documentary; and major stories from leading news outlets in Alabama and South Carolina.

Within a week of publication, the impact was tangible. A Georgia lawmaker introduced legislation addressing the carpet industry. Reporters appeared in outlets including Variety and on the Apple News Podcast. The Environmental Protection Agency issued a detailed public statement on PFAS.