Document Vjg4e0KrvJvMK419y02XwQoM4

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a US-based environmental NGO, has been working to reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry for the past 15 years. Eliminating PFAS from the Textile, Upholstery, Leather, Apparel and Carpets (TULAC) industry is a priority of our work, for which 1) we published a report supported by the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the United Nation's Environment Program (UNEP) in 2021 on why and how the TULAC industry should manage and phase out PFAS use as a class (and provided examples of companies in the process of doing so)1; which is referenced in your impact assessment, and 2) we are leading a UNEP-sponsored international project that aims to minimize or eliminate PFAS use in TULAC production in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam.2 PFAS use should be restricted as soon as possible in all TULAC product categories with very few exemptions. At NRDC, we support the phase out of all unnecessary uses of PFAS. Particularly, we strongly agree with the assessment of the proposal that "a restriction on manufacturing, marketing and use of PFASs, and articles containing PFASs is assessed to be the most appropriate way to limit the risks for human health and the environment" 3. Specifically, PFAS use should be severely restricted in the TULAC product category, because the industry has already started shifting away from PFAS and there are examples of TULAC products using safer, PFAS-free alternatives on the market and also because phase out requirements are already in place in jurisdictions such as California and New York in the United States, which the industry will already need to meet. 1 Yiliqi, Anna Reade, and David Lennett, NRDC. A Review of PFAS as a Chemical Class in the Textile Sector (SAICM, May 2021), https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/pfas-textile-report-202105.pdf. 2 Global Environment Facility. Reducing Uses and Releases of Chemicals of Concern, Including POPs, in the Textiles Sector.. Accessed September 23, 2023. https://www.thegef.org/projectsoperations/projects/10523. 3 Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI), Norwegian Environment Agency, and The Danish Environmental Protection Agency. ANNEX XV Restriction Report: Proposal for a Restriction of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs). ECHA (February 7, 2023). https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/f605d4b5-7c17-7414-8823-b49b9fd43aea. 1 Regulatory measures that restrict PFAS use in TULAC products are established with short transition time. Multiple states in the United States have passed laws to ban the sale of TULAC products containing PFAS. In the United States, it's not unusual for the states to lead the way before the federal government acts. In fact, when the larger states act, the market effect can be similar to national legislation, because manufacturers are reluctant to make multiple versions of the same product. This is what is happening with PFAS in textiles, and this trend will be reinforced by the EU impact on the USA export market. The following state restrictions are in place already, and more can be anticipated: California has adopted restrictions on the sale of carpets and rugs containing PFAS, starting in 20214. adopted restrictions on the sale of treatments containing PFAS for use on converted textiles or leathers, starting in 20225. banned the sale of juvenile products containing PFAS by 20236. banned the sale of PFAS-containing clothing (including outdoor apparel) and textiles starting January 2025, with an extension until 2028 for outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions that is not marketed for general consumer use and is designed for sports experts. However, manufacturers will have to disclose that the products are made with PFAS during this extension period (2025-2028), including for online listings of products.7 Colorado bans the sale of carpets, rugs, and juvenile products that contain PFAS, starting in January 2024; indoor textile furnishings and indoor upholstered furniture that contain PFAS, starting in January 2025; and outdoor textile furnishings and outdoor upholstered furniture that contain PFAS, starting in January 2027 among other product categories. 8 (Note that California's restrictions that apply to furniture come into place in 2025 and therefore manufacturers will likely have to remove PFAS from their products earlier than 2027 to comply with California requirements.) 4 California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Effective July 1, 2021: Carpets and Rugs with Perfluoroalkyl or Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs). https://dtsc.ca.gov/scp/carpets-and-rugs-withperfluoroalkyl-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfass/ 5 California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Treatments Containing Perfluoroalkyl or Polyfluoroalkyl Substances for Use on Converted Textiles or Leathers, 2021 https://dtsc.ca.gov/scp/treatments-with-pfass/. 6 California Legislature. An act to add Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 108945) to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to product safety., California Health and Safety Code 108945 (2023). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB652. 7 California Legislature. An act to add Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 108970) to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health., California Health and Safety Code 108970 - 108971 (2025). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1817. 8 Colorado Legislature. Concerning measures to increase protections from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals. House Bill 22-1234. https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2022a_1345_signed.pdf 2 Maine has banned the sale of carpets and rugs, as well as fabric treatment products, that contain intentionally added PFAS, starting in 2023. Maine will further prohibit the sale or distribution of all new products containing intentionally added and avoidable PFAS starting from January 2030.9 Maryland will ban the sale of carpets and rugs with intentionally added PFAS starting from January 2024.10 New York bans the sale of apparel products with timelines that align with California. Apparel containing intentionally added PFAS may not be sold starting in January 2025, with an extension until January 2028 for outdoor apparel for extreme wet conditions11. NY also prohibits the sale of carpet that contains or has been treated with PFAS starting December 31, 2026.12 Vermont has banned the sale of carpets and rugs that contain intentionally added PFAS, starting in July 202313. The industry is already moving away from PFAS. Since we published the SAICM report in 2021, we've seen a significantly increased number of industry commitments to phase out PFAS use from both TULAC brands and manufacturers. Though brands selling outdoor apparel and gear and manufacturers of technical fabrics were lagging in 2021, a growing number of them have now made commitments to move away from PFAS in the past two years14 15. In fact, Patagonia supported the California Safer Clothing and Textile Act to ban the sale of PFAS-containing TULAC products, which was adopted into law16 in September 2022. 9 Maine Legislature. An Act to Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution. H.P.1113 0 L.D. 1503 http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1113&item=5&snum=130 10 Maryland Legislature. An Act Concerning Environment - PFAS hemicals - Prohibitions and Requirements (George "Walter" Taylor Act). https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2022RS/bills/sb/sb0273E.pdf 11 New York Legislature. Prohibits the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in apparel and outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions. Senate Bill S1322. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S1322 12 Environmental Conservation Law 27-3313 https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/S834 13 Vermont Legislature. An act relating to restrictions on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other chemicals of concern in consumer products. Act No. 36 (S.20) https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/ACTS/ACT036/ACT036%20As%20Enacted.pdf 14 milliken. (2023, January 23). MILLIKEN ELIMINATES PFAS FROM TEXTILE FIBERS AND FINISHES. https://www.milliken.com/en-us/businesses/textile/news/milliken-successfully-eliminates-pfas-fromportfolio; 15 Patagonia. (2023, March 22). Say Goodbye to "Forever Chemicals." https://www.patagonia.com/stories/say-goodbye-to-forever-chemicals/story-133800.html 16 California Legislature. An act to add Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 108970) to Part 3 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health., California Health and Safety Code 108970 - 108971 (2025). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1817. 3 Chemical management tools for this industry are updated to include PFAS as restricted chemicals. In the TULAC industry, stakeholders usually rely on tools like restricted substances list (RSL), manufacturing restricted substances list (MRSL), and 3rd party certificate schemes to practice good chemical management. With the health and environmental concerns of PFAS being broadly recognized and with the increasing number of PFAS-free alternatives now available, these industry-wide standards and certificates have also been updated to restrict PFAS. The adoption of these external standards and certificates is a significant step within the TULAC industry, as organizations, especially AFIRM Group, AAFA, and ZDHC, represent a wide range of members that have different levels of chemical management practices. Some examples of the standards and certificates that include PFAS restrictions include: The AFIRM Group (Apparel and Footwear RSL Management Group) restricted the full class of PFAS in their 08 Version of the Restricted Substance List (RSL) in 2023.17 Members of AFIRM Group includes brands from outdoor apparel, worker wear, sportswear, comfort wear and fashion wear.18 American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) added PFAS as a restricted chemical class in their 23rd edition of RSL in February 2023.19 The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical (ZDHC) has added a ban on all formulations based on or including PFAS used for fashion, sport or outdoor apparel and footwear, and home textiles in their Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) in 2022.20 The product standard for Cradle to Cradle Certified restricts the use of PFAS-based materials, including fluoropolymers and PFAS coatings in their standard published in 2021.21 OEKO-TEX has issued a general ban on the use of PFAS in textiles, leather and footwear for the STANDARD 100, LEATHER STANDARD and ECO PASSPORT certifications in 2023.22 17 Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management Group. (2023). Restricted Substances List (Version 08). https://afirm-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_AFIRM_RSL_2023_0202.pdf 18 AFIRM Group Members, AFIRM Group Brands. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2023, from https://afirm-group.com/members/ 19 American Apparel & Footwear Association. (2023, February 7). AAFA Updates Industry's Most Trusted Restricted Substance List with PFAS Class Restrictions. https://www.aafaglobal.org/AAFA/AAFA_News/2023_Press_Releases/AAFA_Updates_Trusted_RSL_wit h_PFAS_Class_Restrictions.aspx 20 ZDHC. (2022, November 1). ZDHC releases the updates to the ZDHC MRSL Version 3.0, and its supporting documents. https://www.roadmaptozero.com/post/zdhc-releases-the-updates-to-the-zdhcmrsl-version-3-0-and-its-supporting-documents?locale=en 21 Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. (2021). Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard (Version 4.0). https://api.c2ccertified.org/assets/cradle-to-cradle-certified-product-standard-version-4.0--cradle-to-cradle-products-innovation-institute.pdf 22 OEKO-TEX. (2023, January 10). OEKO-TEX New regulations 2023 press release. https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/news/press-releases/oeko-tex-new-regulations-2023/press 4  GreenScreen Certified standards require the certified products to be PFAS-free, which include categories of Furniture & Fabrics as well as Textile Chemicals.23 From January 2025 products that contain materials treated with PFAS chemicals are no longer allowed to be labelled as bluesign APPROVED or bluesign PRODUCT.24 Safer PFAS-free alternatives with proven performances have been identified and put into use. There are an abundant number of safer alternatives that have been available in the market for a long time, like the dozens of PFAS-free Durable Water Repellent (DWR) chemicals and textile technologies listed on PFAS Central25 and ChemSec Market Place26. There are also tools that help buyers to easily identify these safer alternatives, including the bluesign Finder, which users can access for free and search for certified PFAS-free chemicals.27 For example, there are 293 fluorine-free water repellents listed in bluesign Finder. These tools can help shorten the PFAS phase out time significantly. Technical guidance and supports are in place to help TULAC industry transition away from PFAS. Beyond simply providing lists of chemicals to use or not to use, there is also industry guidance on how to operationalize moving away from PFAS. For example, the PFAS phase out guidance published by the AFIRM Group provides information on what PFAS are, why PFAS are restricted, what steps brands and manufactures should take to phase out PFAS use, what tools are available for managing and controlling PFAS, how to conduct tests for verification, and how to avoid cross contamination.28 And for the brands who struggle to move away from PFAS, in-depth technical and funding support is also available. There are many consulting firms that provide support for testing and finding solutions for PFAS phase out efforts. There are also publicly supported projects like the one NRDC is leading in partnership with UNEP and the national governments of project priority countries. In this project, we work hand-in-hand with brands and manufacturers to phase out PFAS use during the production process where PFAS are applied directly to textiles. 23 GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals. (n.d.). GreenScreen Certified. https://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/certified 24 bluesign. (2022, October 26). Bluesign Launches the Next Phase of Its PFAS Phase Out Program. https://www.bluesign.com/en/news/pfas-phase-out-at-bluesign 25 PFAS Central. PFAS-Free Products. https://pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products/; 26 ChemSec. (n.d.). MarketPlace. https://marketplace.chemsec.org/Alternatives 27 bluesign. (n.d.). bluesign Finder. https://bluesignfinder.com/ 28 AFIRM Group. (2023). Per- & Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Phaseout Guidance (Version 01). AFIRM Group. https://afirm-group.com/wpcontent/uploads/2023/09/AFIRM_Phaseout_PFAS_2023_0831.pdf 5 In conclusion TULAC is an industry that is ready to rapidly move away from PFAS use. We can, and need, to phase out the entire class of PFAS from this sector as soon as possible, given the large amount of PFASs being used and the successes already achieved in this sector, which demonstrate the feasibility of a rapid transition. Yiliqi Scientist & Senior Project Manager, Toxics Natural Resources Defense Council 6