diff --git a/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/internal/StringUtils.java b/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/internal/StringUtils.java
index ace694400e6..aae059cde11 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/internal/StringUtils.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/internal/StringUtils.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import io.opentelemetry.common.AttributeValue;
 import java.util.List;
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import javax.annotation.concurrent.Immutable;
 
 /** Internal utility methods for working with attribute keys, attribute values, and metric names. */
@@ -88,18 +89,20 @@ public static AttributeValue cutIfNeeded(AttributeValue value, int limit) {
       String[] newStrings = new String[strings.size()];
       for (int i = 0; i < strings.size(); i++) {
         String string = strings.get(i);
-        newStrings[i] = string == null ? null : cutIfNeeded(string, limit);
+        newStrings[i] = cutIfNeeded(string, limit);
       }
 
       return AttributeValue.arrayAttributeValue(newStrings);
     }
 
     String string = value.getStringValue();
-    return string.length() <= limit
+    // Don't allocate new AttributeValue if not needed
+    return (string == null || string.length() <= limit)
         ? value
         : AttributeValue.stringAttributeValue(string.substring(0, limit));
   }
 
+  @Nullable
   private static String cutIfNeeded(String s, int limit) {
     if (s == null || s.length() <= limit) {
       return s;
diff --git a/sdk/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/config/TraceConfig.java b/sdk/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/config/TraceConfig.java
index c80da554f52..df40961921b 100644
--- a/sdk/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/config/TraceConfig.java
+++ b/sdk/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/config/TraceConfig.java
@@ -150,7 +150,8 @@ public static TraceConfig getDefault() {
   public abstract int getMaxNumberOfAttributesPerLink();
 
   /**
-   * Returns the global default max length of string attribute value in characters.
+   * Returns the global default max length of string attribute value in characters. Zero means
+   * unlimited.
    *
    * @return the global default max length of string attribute value in characters.
    */
diff --git a/sdk/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/SpanBuilderSdkTest.java b/sdk/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/SpanBuilderSdkTest.java
index 265e53821f4..c7d01d72538 100644
--- a/sdk/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/SpanBuilderSdkTest.java
+++ b/sdk/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/SpanBuilderSdkTest.java
@@ -424,6 +424,7 @@ public void tooLargeAttributeValuesAreTruncated() {
             .build();
     tracerSdkFactory.updateActiveTraceConfig(traceConfig);
     Span.Builder spanBuilder = tracerSdk.spanBuilder(SPAN_NAME);
+    spanBuilder.setAttribute("builderStringNull", (String) null);
     spanBuilder.setAttribute("builderStringSmall", "small");
     spanBuilder.setAttribute("builderStringLarge", "very large string that we have to cut");
     spanBuilder.setAttribute("builderLong", 42L);
@@ -447,6 +448,7 @@ public void tooLargeAttributeValuesAreTruncated() {
 
     try {
       ReadableAttributes attrs = span.toSpanData().getAttributes();
+      assertThat(attrs.get("builderStringNull")).isEqualTo(null);
       assertThat(attrs.get("builderStringSmall"))
           .isEqualTo(AttributeValue.stringAttributeValue("small"));
       assertThat(attrs.get("builderStringLarge"))