The US is auditing chemicals that make your rain jacket waterproof. This could change the gear industry forever

Much of the world’s waterproof clothing has a major problem that’s hard to fix: Many of the ingredients that make a rain jacket and repel rainwater are chemicals that don’t break down in the environment. Called PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, they can sicken or kill wildlife, weaken your immune system, exacerbate cancer risks, and cause a long list of other health problems in both humans and animals.

Now, the United States is on a mission to document the extent of the problem—and may start to restrict the use of PFAs. In 2025, all companies that manufacture or import goods into the US will have to file a report with the Environmental Protection Agency documenting all usage of PFAS chemicals between 2011 and 2022. They’ll have a little over a year to compile their data about PFAS, to explain exactly which chemicals they used in which products, and how many units were created.

Restrictions and full-out bans on the use of these chemicals are expected to follow the audit. California will restrict the use of PFAs in apparel starting in 2025, and other states are expected to follow suit. This year, 35 states will introduce policies banning PFAS chemicals, and they may be outlawed nationwide in the foreseeable future. This would render the world’s most effective rain jackets “illegal” in the US.

In the last decade, there’s been a concerted effort in the outdoor industry to find ways to make good gear that works without the use of forever chemicals. So far, some serious progress has been made. Fjällräven eliminated their use of PFAs in 2015; Patagonia is on track to nix them by 2025; and REI, a US retailer of specialty outdoor goods, won’t stock any products with PFAS after 2026. REI’s move is noteworthy because as an important retailer in the space, its environmental compliance requirements can force brands to innovate faster than they otherwise might have in order to keep selling their products at REI’s stores. Brands are now working to create new, proprietary chemicals that are both biodegradable and durably water-repellent.

So what does the future of the industry look like? It could be a little more old-school. Jackets and trousers with more sustainable waterproof coatings often need a little more TLC, like careful laundering with a tech-specific wash like Nikwax, which can restore and improve waterproof coatings. Some fabrics may also work well with wax you can apply at home with an iron, like the Greenland Wax sold by Fjällräven to waterproof its recycled polyester and organic cotton-based textiles.

According to the Outdoor Industry Association, it’s unclear how much of the EPA reporting requirements will be published, or what people will be able to access through public records requests. But it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye out for the EPA’s findings and to keep tabs on emerging research about how PFAS chemicals can affect us when we come into contact with them through textiles.

For all the headlines you read about how important it is to make more sustainable choices when we shop, the reality is that customers aren’t well-equipped to compare products and determine which one is objectively ‘more’ sustainable. Greenwashing makes it even harder to muddle through, which is why the European Union outlawed the practice last year. While there may be a passionate few who send emails to their favorite brands and lobby for more environmental options, consumers are not the ones pushing brands to make a difference. It’s government compliance and vendor preferences, like REI’s, that make the biggest difference.

If this is important to you, contacting your local representative is the best way to get involved. In the United States, PFAS bans are moving more quickly at the state level than the federal one. It’s a move that is unprecedented in the world of politics. In Europe, the EU previously committed to restricting the use of forever chemicals but seems to have abandoned legislative language that would achieve it, according to The Guardian.

Ultimately, adventure-ready gear is a small slice of the PFAS pie. In the absence of full-out government restrictions, being aware of the problem, and working to avoid purchasing new products that contain them, is one small way for us to help protect the places we love—and the people and animals who live there, too.

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