Quick take
- In 2023, HexClad’s own FAQ said its nonstick coating contained PTFE, while the coating was also marketed as “non-toxic.”12
- Buyers sued. HexClad denied wrongdoing and settled for $2.5 million, covering purchases from February 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024. It agreed to stop calling any product that contains PTFE or other PFAS “PFAS free,” “PFOA free” or “non-toxic.”34
- By February 2025 the FAQ said HexClad cookware uses a ceramic coating called TerraBond that is “PTFE-free and PFAS-free.” In September 2024 it had said some products still contained PTFE.67
- Today’s test claim on a HexClad product page is a list of “Non-Detect” results from an unnamed third-party lab. We did not see a lab name, method, detection limit or test date there.9
What a “hybrid” pan is
A hybrid pan pairs a pattern of raised stainless steel with nonstick coating in the low spots between it. HexClad describes its surface as laser-etched steel hexagon “peaks” with nonstick “valleys” between them.89 So a hybrid pan is still a coated pan. The question to ask is the same as for any nonstick pan: what is the coating, and how do you know?
A hybrid pan is still a coated pan. The question to ask is the same as for any nonstick pan: what is the coating, and how do you know?
The timeline
- May 2023. HexClad’s FAQ answers “Does HexClad contain PTFE?” with: “Our nonstick coating contains PTFE, which is listed in the Biomonitoring California Priority Chemicals List.”1
- June 2023. Three buyers file a proposed class action in federal court (Central District of California) over claims such as “non-toxic,” “PFAS Free” and “PFOA Free.”3
- Late 2023. When Serious Eats first tested the pan, HexClad called the coating a “high-grade non-toxic Japanese coating infused with diamond dust,” with the PTFE note “buried in the FAQs.”2
- November–December 2023. A second case is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The federal plaintiffs join it and drop their federal case.3
- July–August 2024. The settlement agreement is signed. HexClad denies all the claims.3
- September 2024. The FAQ says most products use the TerraBond coating, “which is free of PTFE,” and that “some of our products contain PTFE.”6
- February 2025. The FAQ says HexClad cookware uses TerraBond ceramic nonstick, “which is PTFE-free and PFAS-free.”7
- April 2025 to February 2026. The court gives preliminary approval in April 2025, then holds final fairness hearings from September 2025 to February 2026. The claim deadline was November 14, 2025.45
- 2026. An order granting final approval of the $2.5 million settlement is posted on the settlement website.4 In September, HexClad announces bakeware with “a new formulation of PFAS-free TerraBond™ ceramic nonstick.”10
See the evidence: what the settlement says, term by term
| Term | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| The cases | Didwania v. Hexclad Cookware, Inc. (C.D. Cal., filed about June 27, 2023) and Cliburn v. One Source to Market, LLC d/b/a Hexclad Cookware (L.A. Superior Court, filed November 17, 2023). Both alleged misleading claims about the nonstick coating, including “non-toxic,” “metal utensil safe,” “PFAS Free” and “PFOA Free.”3 |
| HexClad’s position | HexClad “vigorously denied” the claims and denies any wrongdoing. The agreement says it is not an admission of liability.3 |
| Who was covered | U.S. buyers of listed HexClad Hybrid pans, pots, woks, griddles and sets bought February 1, 2022 through March 31, 2024.3 |
| Money | A $2.5 million non-reversionary fund, paid out pro rata to valid claimants after costs.34 The order awards $833,333 in attorneys’ fees, $84,837.31 in expenses, $2,500 to each of eight named plaintiffs, and up to $312,000 for administration.4 |
| Marketing changes | HexClad agreed to stop marketing any product containing PTFE or any PFAS as “PFAS free,” “PFOA free” or “non-toxic.” It may keep saying “metal utensil safe,” and may still call products without PTFE or other PFAS “non-toxic” or “PFOA-free,” such as pans with ceramic coatings.3 The order gives the agreement’s terms the force of a court order.4 |
| What it doesn’t cover | Named plaintiffs and class members did not release personal injury claims.3 The settlement contains no lab finding about any pan. |
Not medical advice
This page reports marketing claims and court documents. It does not assess any health risk. If you have a health concern, talk with a clinician.
What HexClad claims now
HexClad’s FAQ and science page say its cookware uses a proprietary TerraBond ceramic nonstick coating that is “PTFE-free and PFAS-free.”8 Its 7-inch fry pan page adds a “Test Results Verified by 3rd Party Lab” panel. It says the brand tested its pots and pans for PFAS compounds and all results were below the lab’s detection limits, and lists PFOS, PTFE, PFOA, PFBS, PFNA and several other analytes as “Passed Non-Detect.”9 These are the brand’s claims. We have not seen an independent test of a TerraBond pan.
How we know: what the test panel does and doesn’t tell you
What it gives you: a list of chemical names and the word “Non-Detect” next to each.9
What we couldn’t find on that page: the lab’s name, the test method, the detection limits, the test date, which products and production batches were tested, and whether the whole coating or only part of the pan was tested. One row is labeled simply “PFAS.”9 Without the method, it isn’t clear what that row covers.
Why that matters: Consumer Reports’ chemist notes that there are thousands of PFAS and most tests look for fewer than a hundred, and that “free” can mean below a set level rather than none at all.12 A “Non-Detect” result means below what that method can measure, for the chemicals it looked for.
How to read a hybrid pan’s label
| You see | What it tells you | Do | Don’t |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Hybrid” or “steel + nonstick” | There is a nonstick coating between the steel.8 | Find the coating’s name and type in the brand’s own words. | Assume the steel pattern means no coating. |
| “PFAS-free” on a hybrid pan | The brand’s statement. For HexClad, the settlement bars this claim only for products that contain PTFE or other PFAS.3 | Ask for the test: lab, method, detection limits, date, product. | Treat it as lab-verified unless you can see the report. |
| An older pan or a resale listing | HexClad’s FAQ said its coating contained PTFE in 2023, and that some products still did in September 2024.16 | Check when it was made or bought, and ask the brand which coating it has. | Assume an older HexClad pan has the current ceramic coating. |
| A PTFE disclosure on a brand’s website | California has required cookware makers, since January 1, 2023, to list on their websites chemicals from a state list that are intentionally added to a food-contact surface or handle.11 | Read it as real information about the coating. | Read the absence of a disclosure as proof of no PFAS. |
| “Non-toxic” | A broad marketing word. HexClad agreed not to use it for products that contain PTFE or other PFAS.3 | Ask what it covers and what evidence supports it. | Treat it as a test result. |
What we don’t know
- Exactly when HexClad switched each product from PTFE to TerraBond, and which products still had PTFE in September 2024. The FAQ didn’t say.6
- What TerraBond is made of beyond “ceramic,” and how it holds up over years of use.
- Who ran HexClad’s “3rd Party Lab” tests, how and when, and at what detection limits.9
- The exact date the final-approval order was signed. The posted copy we read has a blank date line.4
- Other hybrid brands. We have not yet researched their coatings or tests, so this page makes no claims about them.
Related: the label decoder, what PFAS-free cookware means and is ceramic nonstick safe?.