There’s Virtually No Way to Know If Clothes Are Made With PFAS

There’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 ...