Navigating the Wild West of PFAS Labeling on Clothing
The transition away from forever chemicals in clothing is underway, but it’s surprisingly difficult for consumers to figure out what they’re buying.
For the time being, labels offer limited information about whether an item of clothing was made using forever chemicals.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThere’s a chance that some of the clothes hanging in your closet were made using toxic chemicals. There’s also a chance that this fact isn’t communicated clearly, or perhaps at all, on your clothing labels. Welcome to PFAS limbo.
For decades, apparel companies have turned to per- or polyfluorinated chemicals — also called PFAS, fluorochemicals, PFC chemicals or forever chemicals — to make raincoats, boots, backpacks and other items resistant to water and stains. But a growing body of research suggests that this entire class of thousands of chemicals are harmful to human health and the environment. Companies are now racing to get them out of clothes ahead of state-level bans in California, Maine and New York that will take effect in the coming years. This week, the American Apparel & Footwear Association put PFAS on its restricted substance list.