California made history on Jan. 1, 2025 with the country’s first statewide ban on PFAS in clothing and other textile products.
The California Safer Clothes and Textiles Act of 2022 (AB 1817) bars the manufacturing, sale and distribution of new fabric products—from clothing to accessories, footwear, bedding, upholstery, shower curtains, tablecloths, towels and more—made with regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2022, the law mandates that manufacturers of such items switch out “forever chemicals” for the least toxic alternative available, or create alternative designs that achieve the properties created by PFAS, like waterproofing, without using barred chemicals.
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In addition, manufacturers of covered apparel and home goods must provide those that offer the products for sale with a certificate of compliance showing that they were made in accordance with state rules and don’t contain PFAS. This document must be signed by an authorized official of the manufacturer. Retailers and distributors of textile products (provided they aren’t also the manufacturers of these items) won’t be held in violation in the case of a breach if they obtained the certificate of compliance.
Notably, the law doesn’t apply to outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions—for now.
A ban on PFAS in products like outerwear and rain gear won’t go into effect until January 2028. However, beginning this month, parties that distribute, sell or offer for sale any new and not previously used outdoor apparel for wet conditions must provide a disclosure for consumers that specifies that the items was “Made With PFAS Chemicals.” Products for sale online must also be accompanied by such a disclaimer.
California is the first state in the nation to enact such a comprehensive PFAS ban for apparel and consumer goods, though Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota all have legislation banning the sale or distribution of carpets, rugs, fabric treatments and upholstered furniture that contain PFAS. New York’s ban on carpets that contain the toxic chemical compounds takes effect this year as well.
Progress when it comes to the global elimination of PFAS in apparel products has been plodding and inconsistent.
A study from Arnika and the International Pollutants Elimination Network in 2023—wherein clothing like jackets, T-shirts, swimwear and pants sold in Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Serbia, Montenegro, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the U.S. were tested for the presence of PFAS chemicals—turned up alarming results: more than 65 percent were tainted, especially jackets.
Europe is also working to phase out the use of forever chemicals from its apparel supply chain. The EU’s REACH Regulation requires producers and importers of chemicals or compounds to ensure that they are used safely. The law doesn’t apply to polymeric PFAS in general, or to non-polymeric PFAS in imported textiles—only non-polymeric PFAS produced in or imported to the EU as individual substances or chemical mixtures are covered by the law, according to the European Environment Agency.
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have proposed a universal PFAS restriction that includes all kinds of PFAS chemicals. Meanwhile, France has proposed a national ban on PFAS that includes textiles, and Denmark has announced its goal of banning PFAS across the categories of apparel and footwear, as well as other consumer products.
