The bill introduced by Nicolas Thierry, member of parliament for Gironde, will come into effect for apparel from 1 January 2030. Credit: Shutterstock.

According to French news reports, the French national assembly committee unanimously approved the first reading of the PFAS bill, aimed at “restricting the manufacture and sale of non-essential products containing PFAS or forever chemicals,” with 186 votes in favour and none against.

The bill introduced by Nicolas Thierry, member of parliament for Gironde, will come into effect from 1 January 2026.

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It will prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of three categories of consumer goods: clothing textiles (except protective clothing for safety and civil professionals), cosmetics and ski waxes.

All textiles, including apparel are expected to be covered by the ban from 1 January 2030.

However, kitchen utensils which were initially included in the list have been exempted due to job concerns of those working at regional frying pan manufacturing plants

French news publication Le Monde claimed: “The issue of food packaging, another major source of exposure to ‘forever chemicals’, was left out of the committee’s deliberations. Instead, it was deferred to forthcoming European regulations, which are expected to impose stricter regulations, similar to Denmark’s existing ban on PFAS.”

Credit: X (formerly Twitter)

Environmentalist Thierry launched an awareness campaign #STOPPFAS about contamination caused by the use of forever chemicals.

PFAS bans across the apparel supply chain

In the US a recent analysis by Safer States revealed at least 36 states could consider placing new restrictions on the use of toxic chemicals, including PFAS and plastics.

In Europe fashion brands, including H&M, Bestseller, Inditex and Levi Strauss were amongst 108 companies backing a comprehensive EU ban on PFAS chemicals in March 2023.

However, Anne-Sofie Bäckar, an executive director at environmental NGO ChemSec admitted at the time that “a European ban on PFAS chemicals will have huge repercussions for all manufacturing industries and require much work for companies in the global supply chain.”

However, she added: “That’s why the support for a ban from such influential consumer brands as those in the PFAS Movement is so important. It’s a strong sign that businesses want to eliminate PFAS chemicals in products and processes.”

Earlier this year chemical management company Oeko-Tex enhanced its application test criteria to incorporate a new limit value for total fluorine (TF), as part of its ban on the intentional use of PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances), which came into immediate effect on 1 January.