What Brands Should Know About Forthcoming Canadian, US PFAS Regulations

Yahoo

3 days ago

About 12,000 different chemicals make up the family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. These 'forever chemicals' have innumerable uses across product categories like footwear, apparel and accessories.
They've also been linked to manifold risks to human health and the environment. Whether used as a part of a manufacturing process or as an additive in a finished product, PFAS has been found in groundwater, drinking water and different bodies of water accessible to humans. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure may lead to reproductive effects and interference with hormones, developmental delays in children, certain cancers, and immune system damage.
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With these issues as a backdrop, the Canadian Apparel Federation and Marten Law hosted a webinar Wednesday dedicated to understanding the recent governmental intervention when it comes to companies' use of PFAS.
James Pollack, who leads Marten Law's consumer products regulatory practice, laid out the legislative continuum when it comes to regulation. The first set of products that became the focus of PFAS bans were children's products, and the next tranche of prohibitions focused on cookware, with the idea that PFAS might move from cooking surfaces or packaging into food.
'What's interesting is the next set of products that became a focus for folks was textiles, including apparel and footwear. And I think part of it is this visceral sense of, 'Well, I'm putting it on my body. There must be some sort of dermal transmission,'' Pollack said. Research on this is still ongoing, with a number of universities Like Duke researching whether PFAS can be absorbed through the skin. Last year, a team of researchers at Environment International, a team of researchers released findings that PFAS can indeed permeate the skin's barrier and enter the bloodstream.
'There are a number of states that have started to regulate PFAS in apparel and textiles more broadly, and each of the states defines those subjects differently,' Pollack said. In Washington state, for example, intentionally added PFAS—which is added to a product to attain a technical effect, like waterproofing—is banned. But other states, like Vermont, have an expanded ban that covers all PFAS detectable within a product, even if it's unintentionally added as a result of a manufacturing process.
Manufacturing is becoming an increasingly studied part of the PFAS journey, as the chemicals might be used on machines as a lubricant or a surfactant to help a plastic mold release, for example.
According to Pollack, regulation may have outpaced science at this juncture, with a less-than-complete understanding of PFAS' risks or methods of transmission into the human body. Most believe that drinking water is the primary route of exposure, though there are studies about whether it might be inhaled as dust particles, for example. As such, clothing and products like carpets (which might release those particles) are being studied.
In California, key regulations include bans on intentionally added PFAS chemicals in textiles, cosmetics and food packaging. The rollout of the PFAS textile ban will come in waves, as stipulated by AB1817. On Jan. 1, total organic fluorine levels were limited to 100 ppm, and that number will drop to 50 ppm in 2027 (though apparel made for severe outdoor conditions has until 2028 to achieve compliance).
Meanwhile, Maine, Minnesota and New Mexico have also made aggressive moves to ban the use of PFAS, with the former being the first to implement a comprehensive ban on all non-essential uses (though it's considering a bill that would exempt fluoropolymer-coated cookware). Minnesota and New Mexico also have broad bans on intentionally added use of PFAS, though Minnesota is mulling exempting commercial and industrial products. The state is also implementing mandatory chemical reporting requirements for products currently offered for sale on store shelves on Jan. 1, 2026.
'Those states are implementing these broad bans, and they create limited exemptions for what are called currently 'unavoidable uses,' which you have to apply for,' Pollack said. 'You have to show that there's no viable alternative and that the use is helpful for… the functioning of society or health and wellness of people. So a relatively limited exemption possibility there.'
Isabel Carey, a senior associate with the firm who heads up its Toronto office, spoke to Canada's regulatory environment.
'In March, Environment Canada and Health Canada proposed adding PFAS chemicals as a class with a major note as toxic substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act,' she explained, noting that fluoropolymers—a major type of PFAS used in the textile and apparel industry—are excluded because of differences in how people are exposed to them and the hazards that they pose to human health.
Once the government's proposal to classify the chemicals as toxic substances is finalized, there's no immediate regulatory consequence, nor does the classification prohibit the use of PFAS in the Canadian economy. It simply authorizes the government to issue regulations targeting those substances.
According to Marten Law, the agencies further proposed phasing out PFAS use 'wherever feasible'—firstly, in firefighting foams, and then across a range of industries like textiles, food packaging, cosmetics and medical devices where they believe the chemicals can be replaced. During Phase Two of regulation, Canada will evaluate prohibiting PFAS use in industries where alternatives are not available, and where the chemicals aren't being used for the protection of human health, safety or the environment.
The agencies haven't proposed binding regulations to implement their plans, but have announced that implementing regulations will be developed beginning in 2027, Marten Law added.