With the enhancement of public health awareness and the upgrading of household consumption, indoor air quality has become an important indicator to measure the safety of living environment. As an indispensable basic material in home decoration, the formaldehyde emission of wood-based panels is directly related to indoor air quality, which in turn affects the health of family members. On June 1, 2025, the mandatory national standard GB 18580-2025 "Formaldehyde emission limit of interior decoration materials, wood-based panels and their products" will be officially implemented, and the new standard puts forward stricter requirements for formaldehyde emission limit of wood-based panels and their products. The landing of this standard not only puts forward a higher technical threshold for wood-based panel manufacturers, but also profoundly affects the upgrading direction of the entire home industry chain. CIFF Shanghai believes that the introduction of the new national standard will bring a new round of technological upgrading opportunities for the wood-based panel industry.

1. the implementation of hierarchical control, formaldehyde "restrictions" to upgrade

Wood-based panels mainly use plantation resources and renewable, degradable and recyclable biomass resources as raw materials. Due to the relative shortage of forest resources in China, developing wood-based panel industry is an effective way to improve the comprehensive utilization rate of wood and alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand of wood. At present, China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of wood-based panels. The data shows that in 2024, the output of wood-based panels in China exceeded 340 million cubic meters, and the output value of products reached 785 billion yuan, and the industrial scale continued to expand.

In the production of wood-based panels, sizing is a key link to determine the quality and properties of panels. Due to the convenient source of raw materials, relatively simple synthesis process and high bonding strength, urea-formaldehyde resin adhesive occupies about 90% market share. However, free formaldehyde will remain in the synthesis process of this adhesive. Formaldehyde is recognized as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Long-term exposure to low-dose formaldehyde can cause respiratory diseases, immune dysfunction and even leukemia. As one of the main pollutants in indoor air, formaldehyde emission has always been the focus of consumers' attention, and it is also the most common problem in home improvement environmental complaints.

How to scientifically control formaldehyde emission? The establishment of standard system becomes the key. Looking back on the evolution of the standard of formaldehyde limit for wood-based panels in China, it can be divided into three stages. The first stage is the initial stage of quantitative control. In 2001, the mandatory national standard GB 18580-2001 systematically established the formaldehyde emission limit of wood-based panels for the first time, and established the classification system of E1 level (≤1.5mg/L) and E2 level, which marked that the formaldehyde emission of wood-based panels entered the era of quantitative control. The second stage is the limit tightening period. The revised mandatory standard GB 18580-2017 cancels the E2 level, requires all products to reach E1 level, and tightens the limit to ≤ 0.124 mg/m, and the detection method is changed from perforated extraction method to climate chamber method, which is closer to the actual use scenario. The third stage is the deepening period of grading. The recommended national standard GB/T 39600-2021 adds E0 (≤ 0.050mg/m) and ENF (≤ ≤0.025mg/m³)； on the basis of E1; Subsequently, the group standard T/CNFPIA 3002-2024 "Formaldehyde-free Wood-based Panels and Their Products" further strictly controlled the formaldehyde emission limit to ≤ 0.020 mg/m, which set a higher benchmark for the industry.

The mandatory national standard GB 18580-2025, which will be formally implemented on June 1, has taken a bigger step on the basis of the previous standard-the hierarchical control of wood-based panels and products is implemented at the mandatory level for the first time. Specifically: E1 grade (≤ 0.124 mg/m) is suitable for basic wood-based panel products such as plywood and particleboard; E0 grade (≤ 0.050mg/m) is suitable for products made of wood-based panels, including decorative wood-based panels, wooden floors and wooden doors. This means that the end products directly facing consumers must meet the higher E0 level requirements, while the basic plates can still follow the E1 level standards, which not only takes into account the actual situation of the industrial chain, but also raises the environmental protection threshold for the end products.

In addition to the finer classification, the new national standard also blocked the previous loopholes in the detection method. For example, in the sample preparation process, the splicing mode, edge sealing treatment and calculation rules of exposed area of wooden doors and windows, hollow particleboard and other products are clarified, which avoids the deviation of test results caused by irregular sample preparation. The balance processing time was reduced from 15 2 days to 168 3 hours, which greatly shortened the detection period and effectively avoided the operation space of the detection mechanism using the time difference. In addition, the new standard also clearly stipulates the transportation and storage conditions of samples, which further enhances the comparability and credibility of test results.

2. anchor the goal of "good house": from "a good board" to "a good home"

The innovation practice of enterprises finally points to the same goal-to let consumers live in a "good house". This year's "Government Work Report" clearly stated: "We will promote the construction of safe, comfortable, green and intelligent' good houses' in an orderly manner, and implement housing quality improvement projects and property service quality improvement actions." This has pointed out the direction for the high-quality development of the industry.

According to the data, the per capita housing area in China has increased from 6.7 square meters in 1978 to 41.8 square meters in 2024. "Living and living" has been basically realized, and the core demand of consumers is shifting from "whether there is a house" to "whether the house is good or not". In every 100 square meters of residence, the use area of wood-based panels is about 60 to 75 square meters, which are widely used in floors, cabinets, door and window covers, ceilings and other parts. It can be said that the environmental protection performance of wood-based panels largely determines the air quality of the whole house. Under the background of the national "double carbon" goal, the tightening of environmental protection standards and the accelerated popularization of green consumption concept, green wood-based panel products continue to be introduced to the market, and functional panels such as formaldehyde-free addition and low VOC release have gradually become the mainstream. CIFF Shanghai observed that consumers' attention to environmental protection home is increasing rapidly, which has created a broader market space for green plate products.

However, the house is a whole. At present, there are still shortcomings in the decoration process, such as mismatched parts and poor connection between different wood-based panels. For example, many brands and types of wood-based panel products may be used in the same house, and the superposition effect of formaldehyde emission is often ignored; Improper on-site cutting and edge sealing will also increase the formaldehyde release point. The pain point is the direction of force. Enterprises should not only do "a good board", but also do "a set of good boards".

The implementation of the new national standard has set a clearer starting line for the green transformation of wood-based panel industry. The grading control from E1 to E0 not only improves the environmental protection threshold of end products, but also provides consumers with a clearer basis for purchasing. Standards force technology upgrading, and technology drives product iteration, which will ultimately benefit the indoor air quality and living health of thousands of households. Of course, the standard is only the bottom line. A real "good house" also needs the cooperation of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain-from a good board to a set of good boards, from a single material to the environmental protection of the whole house system. It can be predicted that with the full implementation of GB 18580-2025, "no aldehyde addition", "low release" and "just install and live" will gradually change from the marketing concept to the normal state of the industry, helping consumers move from "living in a place" to "living in a good place".