On 10 October 2026, a new EU-wide limit on the PFAS chemical PFHxA began to apply to clothing and footwear. It joins bans already in force in California, New York and France, and the four laws measure PFAS in different ways. A garment that passes one test can fail another, so a brand selling across these markets needs to know exactly what each law counts.
Why Lawmakers Target PFAS in Clothing
Brands use PFAS to give fabric water- and stain-repellent finishes. Regulators now go after the chemicals product by product, because the EU’s universal restriction is still working through ECHA’s committees.
California: Fluorine Content, Not Intent
California’s AB 1817, the Safer Clothes and Textiles Act, bars anyone from manufacturing, distributing or selling new textile articles that contain regulated PFAS from 1 January 2025. A product contains regulated PFAS when the chemicals are intentionally added or when its total organic fluorine reaches 100 parts per million, a limit that falls to 50 parts per million on 1 January 2027.
Outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions follows a slower schedule. The prohibition reaches it on 1 January 2028, although since January 2025 it must carry a statement that it was made with PFAS chemicals. Personal protective equipment and clothing used exclusively by the military sit outside the law, and manufacturers must certify that an article meets the standard. The Department of Toxic Substances Control leads enforcement.
New York: Intentionally Added PFAS in Apparel
New York’s S1322/A994 takes a narrower approach. Since 1 January 2025, no one may sell new apparel containing intentionally added PFAS in the state. Severe wet condition outdoor apparel again waits until 1 January 2028, and professional uniforms such as personal protective equipment fall outside the law. The statute also requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to set an enforceable numerical threshold for PFAS in new apparel by 1 January 2027, whether or not the PFAS were added on purpose.
Other states are layering on their own rules. Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington added new prohibitions or reporting duties on 1 January 2026, and each state covers different products and dates.
France: Three Thresholds Since January 2026
France’s Law No. 2025-188 of 27 February 2025 bans PFAS in clothing, footwear and their waterproofing agents. Since 1 January 2026, the law forbids their manufacture, import, export and sale in France, with an exception for protective clothing such as military and firefighter gear. The ban extends to all textiles containing PFAS on 1 January 2030.
Decree No. 2025-1376 of 28 December 2025 turned the principle into numbers. The decree sets two limits for targeted analysis: 25 parts per billion for any single PFAS and 250 parts per billion for the sum of targeted PFAS. A third limit, 50 parts per million, covers total PFAS including polymers. It also gives a twelve-month sell-off period for products manufactured before 1 January 2026, so those goods can stay on the market until 31 December 2026.
European Union: PFHxA Now, a Universal Restriction Later
The EU has not banned PFAS as a class. It restricts them group by group, and the C9 to C14 perfluorocarboxylic acids have been restricted under REACH since 25 February 2023. PFHxA is the latest group to reach clothing. Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 added entry 79 to REACH Annex XVII, and from 10 October 2026 products cannot be placed on the market above 25 parts per billion for PFHxA and its salts, or 1,000 parts per billion for PFHxA-related substances, measured in homogeneous material. The date applies to clothing, related accessories and footwear for the general public, and other consumer textiles follow on 10 October 2027. One trade report states that retailers can keep selling goods placed on the market before 10 October 2026 if the supplier can supply the relevant proof.
The universal PFAS restriction remains pending. ECHA’s risk assessment committee issued its final opinion in March 2026, and its socio-economic committee aims to adopt its final opinion by the end of 2026. The Commission proposes the legal text afterwards, so brands have nothing to comply with yet under that process.
What Brands Should Do
Test to the strictest method in each market. California counts total organic fluorine, France and the EU count named substances in parts per billion, and New York relies on intent for now, so no single test method serves all four. Collect written supplier declarations that cite the relevant law, and keep the certification California requires on file for each article. Check the exemptions before relying on them, because outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions and protective clothing are treated differently from place to place.
Marketing needs the same care. A “PFAS-free” claim must hold up against the numbers, and French lawyers note that a “PFAS-free” claim on a waterproofed textile must be demonstrable through analyses under the decree’s thresholds. FLJ’s coverage of eco-claim enforcement shows how regulators now treat unsupported environmental claims.
One Chemical Family, Four Rulebooks
California measures fluorine, New York measures intent, France measures trace levels and the EU restricts one substance group at a time. Brands that sell across all four need a test plan for each rulebook, and the safest course is to meet the strictest threshold in each one.
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