The PFAS Intelligence Library: Every Textile Category Assessed
Ten documents.
From fashion fabrics to firefighting gear.
Period underwear to bed sheets.
Every sector where forever chemicals hide in sewn goods —
and exactly what to do about it.
The conversation about PFAS in textiles has been almost entirely focused on one thing:
DWR coating on waterproof jackets.
That conversation is too small.
PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the class of synthetic chemicals linked to cancer, hormonal disruption, immune suppression, and developmental damage in children — are not just in your rain jacket.
PFAS are in the stitching thread.
The zipper slider paint.
The waterproof layer of period underwear marketed as chemical-free.
The foam padding inside character costumes worn by theme park performers and in your bra for hours every day.
The sheets you sleep in for seven to nine hours every night.
The baby training pants worn directly against developing genitalia during toilet training.
They are in over 100 components in a single shoe.
Keen Footwear proved that in 2014 when they audited every spec sheet of every product they made. Over 100 components. In one shoe. It took four years and more than $1 million to eliminate them all.
The industry knew.
The same suppression playbook that DuPont and 3M used to hide PFAS health data
from 1961 through the 2000s created a supply chain where downstream users — designers, brands, costume workrooms, theme park operators, parents buying pajamas — were making decisions based on information that had been deliberately corrupted.
That ends here.
The Modern Garment District PFAS Intelligence Library is ten documents (and expanding) covering every major textile and sewn goods category. What fails. What passes. What requires vetting. Who has already solved it. What to ask your supplier. And the legislation that is already in effect — right now — that may make your current inventory non-compliant.
All ten documents are free. No paywall. Because this information should not be behind a barrier.
WHAT'S IN THE LIBRARY
DOCUMENT 1
The foundation document.
What qualifies as PFAS-free. What requires vetting. What fails — and exactly why. Covering 21 banned fabric categories, hardware including zippers and hook-and-loop, the complete supplier checklist, and who is already compliant. The document that started this library. Already updated to version 5.
DOCUMENT 2
Theme parks. Theatrical production. Film and television. Ice shows. Mascot costumes.
Character performers wear full-body synthetic suits for 20-45 minutes per set, multiple sets per day, in extreme heat. Sweat dramatically accelerates dermal absorption of surface chemicals. Performers have no visibility into the chemical finishing specifications of the costumes they wear.
This document makes the occupational exposure case the entertainment industry has not addressed.
DOCUMENT 3
Motorsport. Skydiving. Drysuits. Wetsuits. Ski racing.
The performance argument for PFAS is being dismantled category by category.
Nomex passes on base fiber — but DWR on the outer shell fails. Level Six released the first
documented PFAS-free drysuit in April 2024.
Patagonia Yulex eliminates both neoprene and PFAS from wetsuits.
The performance excuse is running out of runway.
DOCUMENT 4
66% of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths are cancer. Firefighters wear PFAS-containing
turnout gear to fight fires in PFAS-contaminated environments while standing on PFAS-saturated station floors. The equipment designed to protect them may be contributing to the crisis. NIST found over 20 types of PFAS in turnout gear in 2024.
Milliken has had a non-PFAS solution for every layer of turnout gear since 2023.
The solution exists.
The transition is a procurement decision.
DOCUMENT 5
Jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
California AB 1817 is already in effect. New York followed. France banned PFAS in textiles January 2026. Denmark July 2026. Colorado 2028. Minnesota, Maine, Vermont, Maryland — all active. The EU Safety Gate initiated its first recalls of PFAS-containing apparel in early 2025.
This document tracks every active and pending law, every deadline, and every certification body timeline. Updated April 2026.
DOCUMENT 6
Over 100 components per shoe.
Keen Footwear found PFAS in the laces, the stitching thread, the heel counter, the tongue foam, and the logo. Danner is already blocking sales to California, New York, Vermont, and Maine for non-compliant boots. Fashion footwear, costume and theatrical shoes, and work
boots — including firefighter station boots — all assessed.
Who solved it. What to ask your supplier.
Twelve questions, component by component.
DOCUMENT 7
Handbags, belts, wallets, and jackets are explicitly named in California AB 1817 — already in effect.
The leather tanning question. DWR on every waterproof jacket. The outdoor apparel exception expires in 2028 — and requires a "Made with PFAS chemicals" disclosure label right now.
Patagonia completed its PFAS-free transition in Spring 2025.
Fjallraven eliminated PFAS from all fabrics in 2015.
What they did and how to ask your supplier the right questions.
DOCUMENT 8
Backpacks are explicitly covered by California AB 1817. Luggage manufacturers are already inside the compliance window. The insulated food and bottle compartments in diaper bags are in direct contact with infant food — a PFAS-to-food migration pathway that receives no attention in food packaging regulation but is functionally identical. Hard
luggage shells carry Prop 65 warnings for phthalates and BPA as a separate documented chemical hazard.
Every zipper, strap, and lining assessed.
DOCUMENT 9
The most legally urgent document in the library.
Thinx period underwear settled a class action lawsuit for $5 million. A peer-reviewed study from Indiana University and Notre Dame found PFAS in every reusable menstrual product tested — with evidence of intentional use in one-third of period underwear at levels above 110 parts per million.
The same waterproof barrier layer that failed in period underwear is standard construction in children's training pants.
California passed the T.A.M.P.O.N Act in 2024.
California restricted PFAS in children's products in July 2023 — 18 months before the general textile ban.
Children's bodies are more vulnerable.
The regulatory standard is stricter.
The exposure conditions are more severe.
This document also resolves the children's sleepwear paradox: federal law requires flame
resistance; state law bans PFAS.
There is a legal pathway that satisfies both — and every children's sleepwear designer needs to know it.
DOCUMENT 10
You wear clothing for hours.
You sleep in bedding for a third of your life.
Seven to nine hours of nightly skin contact with whatever is in the sheets, pillowcases, and mattress covers. Stain-resistant bedding. Wrinkle-free tablecloths on food contact surfaces. Quick-dry towels treated to repel water — against your face after bathing. Stain-resistant upholstery in hotel rooms where every guest who sits receives chemical contact.
Toxic-Free Future research found that 72% of items marketed as stain-resistant or water-resistant contained PFAS. In home textiles, performance marketing is everywhere. The warning signals are on every tag.
This document translates them.
Crypton Fabrics went PFAS-free in October 2022.
Carnegie Fabrics eliminated PFAS across their full line. The hospitality sector has not followed.
This document explains why that needs to change.
THE FULL LIBRARY
All ten documents are available free at the Modern Garment District Gumroad library:
Download one.
Download all ten. Share them with your team, your supplier, your compliance department,
your attorney.
This is not marketing.
This is the intelligence you were never given.
A NOTE ON THESE DOCUMENTS
These documents are living references. The PFAS landscape changes as litigation reveals new data, new compliant materials reach market, and legislation expands to new jurisdictions.
If you work with a fabric, material, or product category not covered — or if you have sourcing intelligence that should update an existing entry — contact us directly at PFAS@ModernGarmentDistrict.com
Verified updates are incorporated into the next version with attribution to the contributing organization if desired.
If you download a document now, you will be notified automatically through Gumroad when an updated version is released.
Submit assessments at:
Subject line: Library Assessment Submission
The library is free. The membership is how we sustain building it.
The Modern Garment District Founding Member offer is open to the first 100 members. $99 once.
Lifetime access to the full digital library — every document we have built and every document we build going forward. Founding Member badge.
Private Inner Circle group.
Early access to new resources. 20% discount on consulting.
First notification on expert witness engagements.
When we reach 100, this offer closes permanently.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gina Vincenza Van Epps is an Emmy Award-winning celebrity seamstress, former managing partner of a green demolition salvage company, licensed theme park costume specialist, and author of the Modern Garment District Model.
She is the Creative Director of House of Vincenza and founder of Orlando Fashion District (501c3). She consults with fashion brands, entertainment organizations, and supply chain operators on PFAS compliance, ethical production systems, and design development infrastructure.
ModernGarmentDistrict.com | GinaVincenzaVanEpps.com | HouseOfVincenza.com | VaultDevStudio.com | www.GinaVincenza.com
Comments