Brands start off the new year with a plan to create safer products.
Toxic perfluorinated compounds (PFAS), otherwise known as “forever chemicals,” are still being used within the fashion, beauty, and home industries despite well-documented health risks.
PFAS are a category of chemicals used as nonstick, stain-resistant, and water-resistant agents. Usually found in leather production, PFAS have been the fashion industry’s best asset for the development of outerwear since 1946 with DuPont’s introduction of Teflon. From performance jackets to luxury raincoats, PFAS have proven incredibly useful.
PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment longer than any other man-made substance. Because there is no natural process capable of breaking them down, PFAS can exist for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years.
A sufficient amount of research has documented the damage PFAS cause to both the environment and human health. The chemicals are known to cause cancer, hormone disruption, liver and kidney damage, developmental and reproductive harm, and damage to the immune system. Scientists have condemned their use across many industries, including furniture, food packaging, and fashion.
According to NRDC, PFAS in apparel have led to human and environmental exposure via skin absorption through clothing, emission, and industrial waste polluting waterways and drinking water; the exposure of young children through close contact with carpet fibers; and the exposure of factory workers at chemical production sites.
Due to the recent scientific reports, several fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Patagonia have updated their promotional materials to reflect a complete phase-out of PFAS within the next two years.
Brands like Patagonia don’t anticipate a drastic shift in sales. “We don’t predict an overt change in demand due to this transition. We do plan on reinforcing the importance of garment care over its lifetime – washing and drying and reapplication of water-repellent chemistry. While we will not achieve the water and stain-repellency of the former C8 generation of fluorochemistries, we have found water repellency and other properties to be acceptable for our products’ applications,” Matt Dwyer, Patagonia’s vice president of product impact and innovation, told Mission.
According to Ralph Lauren’s 2022 Sustainable Chemical Management Policy, the chemicals used to manufacture water-repellent materials must now be certified PFAS-free, fully traceable, and be able to pass PFAS testing as defined in RLC Testing Manuals, which are targeted methods for determining concentrations of specific PFAS compounds done by RJ Lee Group.
However, despite striving for change, many brands have reported having unintentional PFAS creep into their goods through manufacturing, lubricants and coatings, misidentified raw materials, and even plastic packaging. This, along with the expensive and imperfect ways to test for PFAS, creates an unsustainable system for companies looking to eliminate all sources of toxins from their merchandise. There is also a risk of greenwashing, or misinformation used to entice green consumers, from brands by blaming external processes for manufacturing clothing with PFAS.
Education on the harm of these chemicals, dedication to alternative solutions, and clear intentions to eliminate PFAS will make a difference moving forward. “The decision to phase out PFAS was guided by the knowledge of the effects from producing those chemicals and putting the responsibility on ourselves to find other solutions… Anything we put out could have very real consequences if it doesn’t conform to our quality standards.” Gin Ando, PR Representative for Patagonia, told Mission.
Images courtesy of Creative Commons.
