Dick’s Sporting Goods has joined a growing group of retailers that have decided that per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are too dangerous to human health and the environment to continue allowing them in their clothing lines.
PFAS are typically added to fabrics to make them water- and oil-repellant and to prevent stains and sticking or wrinkling. PFAS are coined as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down, and besides polluting the environment, they show up in the blood of people and animals.
“State leaders are excited to see companies like Dick’s Sporting Goods demonstrate leadership,” Sarah Doll, national director of Safer States, an alliance of U.S. environmental health organizations, said in a statement to Environmental Health News. She also stated, “States from California to Colorado to New York have stepped up to protect communities by banning PFAS in textiles. It is gratifying to see companies follow suit.”
SOURCES:
Environmental Health News June 15, 2023
ATSDR November 1, 2022