What does the announced Oeko-Tex ban on the use of PFAS in textiles and footwear mean for the industry and the future of waterproof clothing and footwear? Our article explains the latest changes and lists alternative weatherproof solutions already available. So what is the future of PFAS? Do the recent changes go far enough to protect the environment and our health?
What are the current rules for using PFAS?
The Swiss testing, labeling and certification body Oeko-Tex has issued new guidelines for a number of its standards, which are due to come into force in the first quarter of 2023 after a transition period. In addition to a brand new certification for organic cotton (Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton), Oeko-Tex has also introduced a general ban on the use of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in textiles, leather and footwear certified with the Standard 100, Leather Standard and Eco Passport labels (the organization will be hosting webinars in the coming days to explain all the changes). This is the latest advance in a development that has been gaining momentum for some time – albeit not fast enough for many critics.
Announced almost simultaneously alongside Oeko-Tex, the state of New York banned the manufacture and sale of clothing and other textiles containing PFAS, effective Dec. 31, 2023. This follows a law passed in the state of California in August 2022, banning the use of PFAS in new fabrics and textiles throughout the state beginning in early 2025.
The UN and EU are also pushing for a phase-out: the UN is funding exit programs in manufacturing countries Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam to the tune of $45 million; the EU wants to extend the REACH regulation accordingly, and the EU Green Deal aims to ensure better practices for textiles from 2025. A clear step has already been taken by the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) and Bluesign®, who announced in fall 2022 that they will no longer certify materials containing PFAS in any form – whether in coatings or textiles – from mid-2024. Given all these developments and declarations of intent, when will PFAS be off the table?
What are the dangers of PFAS in clothing?
It has been known since the 1960s that fluorochemicals pose medium- and long-term health risks and that they continue to accumulate even when they enter the food chain - hence the term “Forever Chemicals.” PFAS chemicals are increasingly worrying environmental organizations because there is evidence that their use can be toxic to humans.
Washing garments treated with these Forever Chemicals can cause the product to leach into groundwater and, consequently, drinking water supplies. Yet many brands continue to unflinchingly justify their use by citing the benefits of water and grease repellency. In fact, adequate solutions that can provide water repellency and impregnation at the same high level have been on the market for several decades. Even for high-performance requirements, there are proven alternatives for both the durable water-repellent finishing of textiles and the replacement of PTFE membranes.
What are the alternatives to PFAS for waterproof clothing?
For companies like Sympatex, which has long been pushing for sustainable alternatives, the ZDHC and Bluesign decisions last fall were not only overdue but also courageous, because “it is not natural in our industry to consider the proportionality of the means by which we try to convince consumers of our products in the search for market share, using real or even disingenuous arguments,“ a spokesperson said at ISPO Munich in November.
Our OIC textiles and responsible business columnist, Charles Ross, also agrees that the ZDHC statement announcement was realistic, and came even sooner than expected. “Right now, the permeable waterproof membrane market is very active with lots of contrasting systems trying to establish themselves as market leaders,” he told us, elaborating: “Gore-tex has introduced an ePE system; Helly Hansen has highlighted a polypropylene system; Sympatex has led the way with polyester hydrophilic systems; Polartec has now dropped electrospun in favor of a hydrophilic system used on polyamide; Schoeller has a variety, including C-Change; eVent has championed the bioplastic version; Amphibio was seen for the first time in the GreenRoomVoice area of ISPO Munich; whilst the Swiss Dimpora membrane is another new entrant. Solutions that are weatherproof are back in the conversation, like Ventile and Paramo’s Duology system. Even the technical problem of the oil resistance, in addition to the water-resistance finish used in DWRs, has seen progress with patents being applied for by Beyond Surface Technologies.”
But in fact, many sports and outdoor textiles – including some committed to environmental protection – currently still use membranes with PFAS, especially from the industry leader, Gore.
“We value our long-term collaboration with Bluesign and will make every reasonable effort to accommodate this change in our product portfolio while also working to minimize any associated disruptions to customer orders,” Molly Cuffe, sustainability communications leader at W. L. Gore & Associates, told The Outdoor Industry Compass in early December, shortly after Bluesign’s announcement.
Cuffe continued: “The Gore-Tex brand laminates containing the new ePE membrane [without PFAS] that launched this fall will meet the new Bluesign certification criteria and will continue to carry the Bluesign label. All Gore Fabrics consumer footwear laminates will also continue to carry the Bluesign label. As a result of the new criteria, there will be a six-month gap in Bluesign labeling for some consumer garments laminates, and one glove insert beginning in the S/S 2025 retail season as we continue to transition this portfolio to the new ePE membrane. We will resume our Bluesign labeling for most of our consumer fabric laminates and for the affected gloves insert in the FW 2025 retail season.”
When will PFAS be banned in clothing?
The question now is: When will PFAS – in all applications, at all levels – finally be banned? Alternatives in the textile sector already exist in a wide variety, and both certification authorities and policymakers are increasingly, in some places more quickly than originally expected, taking action. Even those once making PFAS the basis of their success – and the basis of indisputably superb products - are working on alternatives and showing insight.
We think the sooner harmful substances can be banished, the better. 2025 sounds like a realistic date, but it shouldn’t take much longer. Because let’s face it, due to various lobbies and commercial interests, the anti-PFAS debate started far too late.
