The fashion industry is set to be affected by another round of regulations — this time, they’re centered on chemicals commonly used in clothing coatings.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that have been used in various industries since the 1940s. There are over 12,000 types of PFAS, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. They’re sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and human body, where they can accumulate over time and cause issues linked to reproduction, allergies and cancer. Common in outdoor and performance wear, these chemicals help fabrics repel water and resist stains.
However, their environmental and health impacts have sparked a shift among brands toward safer textile alternatives. Last January, period underwear brand Thinx settled a class action lawsuit for up to $5 million after a claim that PFAS were used in its underwear.
In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pledged to enhance research on PFAS to better understand the health risks associated with various exposure levels. The same year, it published a roadmap for addressing PFAS, with goals set for 2024. In addition, since 2022, at least six states including California have implemented laws requiring companies to report their use of PFAS. Some states, including Maine, have enacted complete bans on PFAS.
Starting on January 1, 2025, California will prohibit the manufacturing, selling and distributing of textiles containing PFAS levels exceeding 100 parts per million (ppm), which is now considered the unsafe limit. Therefore, brands that want to get ahead of the chemical ban should act now.
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“California legislation is so important because, by some measures, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world if it were a country,” said Alden Wicker, author of “To Dye For,” a book on the damaging effects of chemical use in clothing. “Fashion brands are not going to give up on that market. So what this legislation creates is an incentive for brands to test clothing, because clothing testing is really expensive. An advocacy law firm could leverage that legislation, so it makes it worth their while for brands to spend thousands of dollars to test products and ensure those toxins are not in there.”
Some brands have already been taking action. Outdoor wear brand Salomon, whose revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2022, started to sell per-fluorinated, chemical-free shoes in its fall 2020 collection. It followed that up with PFC-free clothing in 2023.
Outdoor wear, gorp core and even athleisure brands are set to be particularly affected by the PFAS regulation because many of their items typically feature waterproofing or other chemically-created qualities. If a brand’s clothing contains PFAS, then it won’t be permitted to sell in California.
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Twenty-year-old Portland-based brand Keen has been PFAS-free since 2018. The brand has seen a “big” interest in its hiking shoes, according to the Financial Times, as the gorpcore trend has grown over the last few years. Keen declined to disclose its specific sales. The brand was also featured on Saul Nash’s runway during Fashion Week Spring 2024.
Keen took four years to get rid of PFAS in its supply chain, according to Kirsten Blackburn, head of Keen Effect, the brand’s sustainability division. In 2020, it released a report called “The Road to PFAS Free,” outlining how other brands can also get rid of PFAS. So far, it’s been downloaded nearly 1,000 times.
But, according to a Keen representative, the process is ongoing.
“Even though we achieved that PFAS-free marker, you can never really say ‘free’ because it’s literally everywhere,” said Blackburn. “In 2022, we extended our PFAS commitment to packaging, because in our testing, we were getting infractions. It turned out the receipts in the packing slips were coated with anti-smudge PFAS application.” The brand’s supply chain is entirely PFAS-free now.
Multi-brand stores could also help halt the sale of items with PFAS. For its part, in the U.S., outdoor equipment and clothing company REI will ban footwear and other textiles containing PFAS starting this fall. REI reported $3.85 billion in sales for 2022.
“We need to see more retailers and more catalytic players in the industry demanding action,” said Blackburn.
Wicker believes that brands are in for a reckoning with the California legislation. “This legislation will provide us with a lot more information about what is actually in our clothing, especially when it comes to PFAS,” said Wicker. “We’re about to uncover a lot of nasty discoveries.”
