PFAS levels plunge in textiles after California and New York bans

Regulation is finally showing up where it counts: in the fabric itself. New testing from the Natural Resources Defense Council found PFAS concentrations falling sharply in U.S. textiles after California and New York forced brands to phase out the chemicals, with major outdoor brands cutting PFAS in raincoats by 97% to 99.99% from earlier testing.

The numbers matter because PFAS have spent decades hiding in the finish of clothes and home goods, delivering water repellency, stain resistance and durability in everything from shoes and bags to tablecloths and reusable diapers. NRDC tested 115 textile products purchased in California and New York in 2025, after the bans took effect, and found especially strong progress in athletic pants, swimwear, shoes, rainwear and other outdoor gear. In some categories, products moved from thousands of parts per million to below 10 ppm within a few years, a sign that the chemistry can change faster than the industry once claimed.

The legal pressure is what changed the equation. New York began barring the sale of new apparel containing intentionally added PFAS on January 1, 2025, and the state has set a separate restriction for outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions starting January 1, 2028, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. California’s AB 1817 also took effect on January 1, 2025, banning the manufacture, distribution or sale of new textile articles containing regulated PFAS, with a 100 ppm threshold in 2025 that drops to 50 ppm on January 1, 2027, and additional compliance requirements for some outdoor apparel.

For brands, that is the practical scoreboard. The new testing undercuts the old line that safer alternatives were too hard to deploy on a realistic timeline. Anna Reade, of NRDC, said the findings showed that once states forced the shift, most companies were able to reformulate. That leaves a narrower excuse sheet for labels still leaning on PFAS to solve performance problems.

The remaining weak spots are just as telling. NRDC still found concerning PFAS levels in pet products, tablecloths and reusable diapers, suggesting that compliance is uneven and that some categories have not moved as quickly as outerwear and athleticwear. And without federal disclosure rules, shoppers outside California and New York still have little easy way to know which textiles contain PFAS. The market is changing, but the next phase will be about who finishes the job, and who gets left behind.