Report finds major retail, apparel brands use dangerous chemicals called PFAS
A new report released Wednesday ranked retail and apparel brands on policy commitments to eliminate a dangerous class of toxic “forever chemicals,” known as PFAS, from their products.
NCPIRG Education Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Fashion FWD conducted the report.
NCPIRG explained how PFAS -- also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- are a family of as many as 12,000 dangerous synthetic chemicals that pollute the drinking water of approximately 200 million Americans. PFAS are linked to health impacts for both humans and animals that range from cancer to suppressed immune function, the chemicals are resistant to breaking down and can build up inside human bodies and in the environment.
“Levi Strauss & Co. earned the highest marks while Walmart, Costco, Tapestry (parent company for Coach) and G-III Apparel Group (parent company for DKNY and Andrew Marc) received low marks for failing to adopt policies that ban PFAS chemicals or provide up-to-date, publicly available information on any ongoing efforts to phase out these toxic chemicals from their products,” an NCPIRG news release stated.
In response, Walmart issued this statement:
Walmart U.S. has a longstanding Product Safety and Compliance program, which includes testing for priority chemicals in clothing. We work closely with our suppliers on reducing priority chemical usage and discharge in the textile manufacturing process. We expanded our Chemical Management Program in 2021 in close consultation with NGOs including NRDC to support our apparel, footwear, and home textile supply chain partners in taking steps to align with the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (ZDHC MRSL), which includes certain perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
WRAL News also reached out to Costco, Tapestry and G-III Apparel Group with a request for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
“In North Carolina, PFAS contamination has polluted our environment and impacted the health of our communities, like Pittsboro and Wilmington, for far too long,” the release stated. “That’s why, for our state, it's essential that these apparel companies get PFAS out of their products before more contamination reaches our shelves and our communities.”
NCPIRG Education Fund state director Katie Craig said PFAS contamination can occur throughout the entire lifecycle of clothing manufacturing.
“It pollutes our waters, can be ingested by children in the home, winds up in landfills or incinerated and passed into the air,” Craig said in a news release. “To effectively address PFAS contamination, clothing brands must stop using dangerous forever chemicals and replace them with safer alternatives.”
The report also found several popular outdoor brands that received poor grades, including REI Co-op, Columbia Sportswear, Wolverine Worldwide and Academy Sports and Outdoors. WRAL News reached out to each company, but not immediately hear back.
Patagonia earned a “B,” the highest score in the sector. NCPIRG’s claims Patagonia is the only outdoor brand with a commitment to phase out all PFAS from all its products by 2024.
“We hope this scorecard encourages consumers to use their shopping power for good. Commitments from major apparel brands and retailers, alongside comprehensive policy changes, can significantly help combat PFAS pollution,” NRDC’s Health Campaigns director Sujatha Bergen said in a news release. “It is especially unacceptable and ironic for the outdoor apparel space to have scored as poorly as they did. We need to hold multibillion dollar outdoor brands like Columbia accountable for exacerbating the PFAS crisis.”
