On 1 September 2022, the State of California in the US passed Bill AB 1817 to regulate Poly and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) chemicals in textile articles. The new legislation comes into force on 1 January 2025, from which date any person is prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale (placing on the market) any new textile articles that contain regulated PFAS, requiring all manufacturers to use the least toxic alternative when removing regulated PFAS in textile articles to comply with these provisions.
This PFAS textile regulation will also require a manufacturer to provide any persons that offer the product for sale or distribution with a certificate of compliance stating that the textile article is in compliance with the law and does not contain any regulated PFAS.
AB 1817 will not apply to outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions until 1 January 2028. However, from 1 January 2025, outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions that contain regulated PFAS must be sold accompanied by a statement “Made with PFAS chemicals,” including online listings of products for sale.
Articles excluded from AB 1817
Textile articles excluded from compliance with AB 1817 are
- Any items regulated under the Safer Consumer Products Program; Carpets and rugs, treatments containing PFAS for use on converted textiles or leathers
- A vehicle or its component parts
- A vessel or its component parts
- Filtration media and filter products used in industrial applications
- Textile articles used in or for laboratory analysis and testing
- An aircraft or its component parts
- Stadium shades or other architectural fabric structures
What levels of PFAS are allowed?
A Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS ) is defined as a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
Regulated PFAS under AB 1817 is defined as either of the following:
- PFAS that is intentionally added to a product and that have a functional or technical effect in the product, including the PFAS components of intentionally added chemicals and PFAS that are intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product; or
- The presence of PFAS in a product or product component at or above the following thresholds, as measured in total organic fluorine:
- Beginning 1 January 2025, 100 ppm
- Beginning 1 January 2027, 50 ppm
How Eurofins can help you comply with AB 1817
Eurofins Sustainability Services offers a range of services and solutions which can help you prepare for, and comply with the new Assembly Bill No. 1817 and its related cosmetics legislation AB 2771 including Eurofins PFAS Testing, chemical substitution options and wider PFAS supply chain risk management support.
Read more about Eurofins PFAS Testing services, contact us or book a video consultation with one of our Sustainable Chemistry experts.
