As journalist Jess Cartner-Morley recently wrote on the pages of Guardianthe leggings They have returned with force. They are no longer a garment relegated exclusively to the gym, but have become an elegant option for everyday use. It is a “utilitarian level” garment—as Cartner-Morley defines it—that practically all of us have stored in a drawer. And it’s not the only one: we buy our children “stain-resistant” school uniforms to save hours of scrubbing, or we wrap ourselves up in a state-of-the-art water-repellent raincoat. We look for clothing that offers us absolute comfort. But have we stopped to think at what price?
The reality is more chilling. According to a report from the European network ENR (European Newsroom)in the Netherlands, the National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) analyzed blood samples from its citizens and concluded that practically all of them have industrial chemicals in their bodies. At the European level the outlook does not improve: 14.3% of adolescents have blood concentrations that exceed safe levels, reaching peaks of 23.8% in France.
These compounds, designed to make our lives easier by repelling water and stains, have jumped from our closets directly into our bloodstream. This is the story of a silent invasion.
The toxic magic of the textile industry. To understand how we got here, we have to look at science. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)perfluoroalkylated and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are a huge family of thousands of synthetic chemicals created in the 1940s. They are popularly known as the “forever chemicals” or “forever chemicals” because they contain a very strong carbon and fluorine bond that makes them practically indestructible in the environment.
Their commercial magic lies in the fact that they repel water, grease and heat in an exceptional way. The report Toxic Convenience (Toxic Convenience), prepared by the NGO Toxic-Free Futuredocumented how these substances are used massively in all types of textiles, from sheets and tablecloths to mountain clothing. However, a scientific study published in the magazine Environmental Science & Technology analyzed children’s clothing in North America and found that school uniforms labeled and marketed as “stain-resistant” contained significantly higher levels of PFAS than other common clothing.
This obsession reaches the fashion giants. On the one hand, the high-end where the Texas attorney general has opened an investigation against the sought-after sportswear brand Lululemon. How to detail The Washington postit is being investigated whether its garments contain PFAS, which would be an advertising deception for consumers who come to the brand looking for a “healthy” lifestyle, despite the fact that Lululemon claims to have eliminated these substances at the beginning of 2024.
On the other hand, the opposite extreme of consumption: ultra-fast fashion. A devastating report published by Greenpeace at the end of 2025, titled “Shame on you, Shein!”reveals that this platform continues to be a drain for toxics. Of 56 garments and shoes analyzed, 32% contained dangerous chemicals that exceeded the limits established by the European Union. The most alarming data was found in a garment purchased in Spain, which exceeded the permitted levels of PFAS by more than 600 times.
So how does it affect us? Knowing that we carry industrial chemicals in the clothes we wear every day is already disturbing, but their documented medical effects are even more so. The EPA warns that prolonged exposure and the accumulation of PFAS in the human body are linked to serious problems: alterations in the immune and hormonal system, increased cholesterol, problems in fetal development, lower effectiveness of vaccines in children and a greater risk of suffering from cancers such as kidney and testicular cancer.
Until recently, it was believed that the greatest risk came from drinking contaminated water or eating food. However, Marta Venier, environmental chemist cited by Washington Postwarns of the risks of dermal exposure. Their fears have been confirmed by a revealing study led by researcher Oddný Ragnarsdóttir from the University of Birmingham, published in the magazine Environment International. Using equivalent 3D human skin models, scientists demonstrated for the first time that 15 of the 17 most common PFAS show substantial dermal absorption. Some compounds, such as PFPeA, are absorbed by human skin by almost 60%. Areas where the skin is thinner – such as the neck, armpits or groin, where leggings generate greater friction—are especially vulnerable.
And the risk does not end when we take off our clothes. Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, explains in Washington Post that some PFAS used in clothing are volatile. “Even if they are hanging in your closet, you won’t smell them because they are odorless,” he details, but they release compounds into the air that you end up inhaling directly in your own home.
What can we do about the closet? Faced with this avalanche of data, consumers may feel helpless, but experts insist that there are alternatives. At the corporate level, some brands are taking responsibility. An example is the outdoor clothing brand Patagoniawhich in a statement explained his long ordeal to get rid of PFAS. They recount how they fell into what scientists call “regrettable substitution” (changing a long-chain toxic chemical for a short-chain one that turned out to be just as harmful) and how today, 99% of their fabrics repel water without intentionally added PFAS, promising to reach 100% very soon.
For our daily lives, experts offer several practical tips:
- The Gout Test: Professor Peaslee suggests putting a drop of water about that suspicious raincoat or technical pants. If three hours later the drop is still there, intact, the garment is probably treated with PFAS. If it absorbs within a couple of minutes, it doesn’t have the chemical.
- Read between the lines: Jamie DeWitt, toxicologist at Oregon State University, rI recommend distrusting marketing. If a garment is sold as water or stain resistant, and doesn’t specify what its lining is made of, “assume it has PFAS.”
- Wash and inherit: Marta Venier advises washing He repeatedly washes new clothes to remove some of the chemicals, and points out an unexpected advantage of circular fashion: when buying second-hand clothes, “the previous owner has already done those wash cycles for you.”
The great legal and citizen battle in Europe. Beyond individual behavior, institutions have begun to make a move. According to EuronewsFrance has become a global pioneer with a historic law that prohibits the production and sale of cosmetics and clothing with PFAS as of January 1, 2026, joining initiatives in Denmark or North American states such as California.
At the same time, civil society has said “enough.” As reported France 24France is currently the scene of Europe’s largest civil trial against eternal chemists. Hundreds of residents and several NGOs have put the industrial giants Arkema and Daikin in the dock, accusing them of dumping tons of PFAS in the “Chemistry Valley” of Lyon, demanding compensation under the “polluter pays” principle. Justice begins to set serious precedents, according to ENRan Italian court has already sentenced chemical industry executives to up to 17 years in prison for contaminating drinking water with PFAS in the Veneto region.
At the European Union level, a total community ban on PFAS is already being studied. However, the measure collides with the interests of the industry in powers such as Germany, where politicians warn of the risk of “deindustrialization.” Faced with this resistance, organizations such as Greenpeace They demand strong lawsspecific taxes on fast fashion and the prohibition of its aggressive advertising to stop what they consider an intrinsically toxic model.
The price of convenience. Escaping 100% of PFAS is almost a utopia today; As the experts at the Dutch RIVM assume, they are already part of the water we drink and our blood. However, as toxicologist Jamie DeWitt reflects in The Washington Post“educating ourselves about these chemicals and taking control over little things makes us feel a little better about what we can’t control.”
Next time we get comfortable leggings to go to work or buy stain-proof pants for our children, we should ask ourselves an uncomfortable question. It is clear that modern convenience has cost us too much. The luxury of not rubbing mud or getting wet in a storm has ended up leaving a stain, for the moment indelible, on our own health and on the history of the planet.
Image | Photo by Yunming Wang on Unsplash
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