Sustainability
European Outdoor Company Goes Ahead: Vaude – PFAS-Free in All Apparel Fabrics
by Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
Outdoor clothing company Vaude for recent years has been dedicated to eliminating harmful chemicals from its manufacturing processes, including the removal of PFCs, which belong to the PFAS group. In May this year, the German family business with a European-wide sales network announces all apparel fabrics in use with the brand to be PFAS-free.“We are glad that PFASs are finally to be restricted by law and that this issue has now also reached the general public. It affects every one of us, no matter where we live in the world. At Vaude, we have long been voluntarily committed to this issue and have shown that environmentally friendly, PFAS-free outdoor gear and apparel is possible!” says Antje von Dewitz, Vaude CEO. Unfortunately, however, this is far from standard.
"Too little is being done on a voluntary basis. Therefore, legal regulations are important in making the industry reconsider its position and in advancing the development of PFAS-free alternatives," continues Antje von Dewitz. PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, were once considered miraculous for their ability to make products water-repellent, non-stick, and stain-resistant. They can be found in a wide range of everyday items, from frying pans to cosmetics, and as a proven fact are harmful to both health and the environment. They accumulate in soil, water, plants, animals, and humans, and are not biodegradable. Despite knowing about the health risks, the industry has continued to use them. The German government, along with four other countries, plans to restrict the entire group of PFAS substances in the EU by 2025.
"We are aware that restricting all PFAS will pose major challenges for many companies. Ten years ago, we were faced with this task ourselves and put a lot of effort into finding pollutant-free alternatives; we went through countless test series and had to accept setbacks time and again. But it was worth it!" says Bettina Roth, Head of Quality Management at Vaude. VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co. KG revenue in 2021 had increased by 17% to a total of US$135 million.
In 2016, Vaude became the only major outdoor brand to sign the Greenpeace Detox Commitment, which committed the company to eliminating all harmful substances from its entire production process and producing its entire collection with PFC-free manufacturing.
To ensure compliance with stated limits and regulations, Vaude is working with a Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL). This is a list of substances that are either wholly prohibited or restricted by limit values and it applies to the entire manufacturing process. 100% of the firm’s primary partners have signed its MRSL and committed themselves to compliance with Vaude’s requirements, which are verified by periodic wastewater tests.
Status & Outlook PFAS Restrictions - Finally on Right Course
USA
In the U.S., there are several restrictions. By now more than 20 states have drinking water limits for various PFAS substances (mostly PFOS/PFOA), In 2021, Maine - due to high PFAS concentrations in cow's milk - banned over 9,000 PFAS substances by 2030, making it only the first state to do so. At the federal level, for example, the U.S. EPA, the agency responsible, published a rule in July 2020 that requires the use of long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates as a coating on any product to be approved first. Most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that it would no longer grant exemptions for smaller amounts of PFAS - making it more difficult to obtain approval for new PFAS substances. In addition, the "Proposed Rule" is now in effect. This requires all manufacturers and importers of PFAS and PFAS-containing products to submit information from the last ten years on 22 categories (including formulas, quantities, uses, potential by-products, and disposal). There are no exemptions for minimum quantities, impurities, products, or small businesses—an effective approach at least along controlled supply chains.
EuropeCertain restrictions are already in place in the EU, as two subgroups (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid [PFOS] & perfluorooctanoic acid [PFOA]) are listed in EU 2019/1021 (POP Regulation) and some other substances have been declared under REACH. In all likelihood, a massive restriction on all PFAS groups will come into force in European Community countries from 2025. In this context, PFAS are defined as all substances containing at least one perfluorinated methyl group (CF3) or perfluorinated methylene group (-CF2-), ECHA explains on our request. The European Chemicals Agency of the European Union agency to as an agency to the European Union works for the safe use of chemicals. It implements the EU's groundbreaking chemicals legislation, benefiting human health, the environment, and innovation and competitiveness in Europe. The EPA definition of PFAS is "per- and polyfluorinated substances that structurally contain the R-(CF2)-C(F)(R′)R″ moiety. Both the CF2 and CF units are saturated carbons, and none of the R groups (R, R′, or R″) can be hydrogen."
AsiaAs the research of The NEEDLE’S EYE editorial team shows, in most Asian markets the use of PFAS in all conceivable consumer products and thus also clothing with a corresponding function is just as widespread as in the EU and USA. Several Asian countries have ratified the Stockholm Convention and therefore restricted PFOS and in some cases PFOA as well. However, other PFAS substances are barely mentioned in the legislation, although PFASs are receiving increasing attention here as well, especially in China and Japan. With upcoming restrictions in the EU and US, it is expected that Asian countries will follow suit, as pollution and bioaccumulation in humans have already occurred in studies in several Asian countries.
Vaude CEO Antje von Dewitz, while crossing the Alps: “PFAS affects each and every one of us, no matter where we live in the world.”
PFAS were invented in the forties in the laboratories of DuPont, originally for coating fishing lines. Product name: Teflon. Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) as such include more than 4,500 different man-made compounds that can harm our health and are not degradable in nature, or only after a very long time. Experts therefore also call them "forever chemicals". "PFASs are among the most threatening chemicals ever invented," says Roland Weber, an environmental consultant for the United Nations. Residues of them have long been found everywhere in the world - in soil, drinking water, animals, food - and also in the human body.
©: Vaude
PFAS-free materials in use for Vaude rain jacket. The dangers of PFAS have long been known. Now the issue has moved into broader public focus.