Wintering Without Forever Chemicals
As winter approached this year, my partner and I inventoried our family’s cold-weather gear. We spend a lot of time outside—even in the wintertime—so we need high-quality gear that keeps us warm and dry. Boots: check. Gloves, hats, toddler snowsuit: check. Winter jackets? My partner’s would work for him, but mine—a secondhand cotton duck and nylon jacket—was worn thin over the past decade.
By Erica Cirino
Child making a snow angel
As a writer and researcher specializing in plastic and other forms of pollution, I try to understand the materials and lifecycles of the items I buy and use. As I searched for a replacement, I noticed several regulations regarding winter jackets and other rough-weather gear were rolling out soon.
As of January 1, 2026, Connecticut will require that new outdoor clothing—one of a dozen categories of common household products—display a clear disclosure when “made with PFAS chemicals.” By 2028, the state will officially prohibit Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in these items.
PFAS are a class of man-made chemicals, often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are extremely resistant to breaking down, transferring from products to the environment and our bodies, and persisting for hundreds (maybe even thousands) of years. Since their development in the 1950s, PFAS have been widely used in a range of products from nonstick cookware to cosmetics, for their durability and resistance to heat, oil, stains, and water. They’re also commonly used in outdoor apparel, like winter jackets and boots. PFAS are very effective in waterproofing materials, which has made them near-ubiquitous in New Englanders’ wardrobes. But tides are changing.
Living in a region where freezing temps and snow demand resilient outerwear, I wondered how our options for staying warm and dry might change as these regulations roll out—and how I can protect my family from PFAS in the meantime.
PFAS are very effective in waterproofing materials, which has made them near-ubiquitous in New Englanders’ wardrobes. But tides are changing.
The health risks associated with PFAS have been known for decades. But in the absence of regulations, products containing PFAS proliferated. These harmful chemicals can now be found at alarming levels in our air, waters, and soil. They’ve been detected in human blood, breastmilk, and urine, and according to the CDC, nearly every American has PFAS in their body due to exposure.
PFAS exposure has been linked to a wide range of human health issues, including birth defects, cancers, diabetes, hormone disruption, infertility, neurological impairment, and more. These chemicals also harm wildlife and ecosystems. They’ve been linked to reduced fertility in birds, increased rates of tumors in many species, degradation of microbial communities in soil, and the list goes on.
While PFAS chemicals primarily pollute air, soils, and water during their production—through manufacturing emissions, accidents and spills, and wastewater disposal—forever chemicals also shed into our surrounding environment from the products in which they’re used. Many products containing PFAS are synthetic, made of plastics that also shed microplastic and nanoplastic particles, which further help deliver PFAS chemicals into our bodies and environment and make them even more toxic.
Ingestion of PFAS through contaminated food and water is the primary way these chemicals enter our bodies. We are also exposed through inhalation of indoor air and dust—which picks up PFAS shed from furniture and textiles, especially carpeting. Kids and pets, who spend the most time on the ground, are especially vulnerable to the chemicals in elevated quantities. While our skin can absorb PFAS from clothing, it appears to occur at a lower level of exposure relative to these other sources. But evidence shows that older apparel that has lost some of its waterproofing, or is shedding material due to wear and tear, is more likely to increase PFAS exposure.
As scientific understanding of the harmful environmental and health effects of PFAS grows, so do efforts to reign in its use and pollution, particularly in Europe and the U.S.
Connecticut is one of 20 states, including California, New York, and Maine that have recently passed or are considering legislation regulating PFAS in consumer products, many of which specifically call out PFAS in outdoor gear. “I think manufacturers have gotten the message,” says Tom Metzner, Environmental Analyst at Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). “PFAS is bad and you need alternatives. But you need state laws to put the last nail in the coffin so to speak.”
Legislation targeting outdoor apparel can make a big impact: About 50% of PFAS produced globally are used in textiles, especially in waterproofed outdoor gear. Phasing them out of production (and out of our closets) will be an important step in protecting the environment and each other from further exposure.
But what do we wear in the cold and wet weather now? For PFAS-free outdoor gear, look to natural alternatives like leather, waxed canvas (beeswax, not paraffin derived from fossil fuels), oilcloth (made from canvas or linen cured in linseed oil), real rubber, and tight-woven wool. Some of these options have unfortunately become pricier as synthetic materials have flooded the outdoor gear market. They also come with their own environmental impacts and tradeoffs.
The next time you go shopping, look for PFAS-free outdoor gear; in Connecticut, this will be much easier now that disclosures are required.
Fortunately, some companies have been working for years to eliminate PFAS from their products, developing safer alternatives that will keep us warm and dry. For example, Patagonia began developing and testing PFAS-free textiles in 2006, and declared its products free of intentionally added PFAS in January 2025. “We use about a dozen different chemistries that are typically based on hydrocarbons (think polymers and waxes) or silicones,” Patagonia spokesperson Nathan Yamaguchi told me. “Each of these chemistries have been vetted based on all the different environmental impacts, toxicological impacts, and of course, quality and performance.”
As new regulations roll out, experts warn against companies making “regrettable substitutions”— the practice of slightly altering chemical formulations of a banned substance to bypass regulations. PFAS can be easily altered by chemists, hypothetically opening the door to an unlimited number of formulations. In the past, some manufacturers have replaced one harmful PFAS chemical with another equally harmful alternative. For example, a PFAS chemical called GenX was introduced as a “safer” alternative to nonstick PFAS chemicals PFOA and PFOS in 2008. But a decade later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined GenX was just as toxic to human health, with even low levels of exposure linked to serious health risks, including harm to developing fetuses, the immune system, liver, kidney, and thyroid. New regulations can prevent regrettable substitutions by regulating them as a class of chemicals rather than substance by substance, and also supporting safer alternatives.
A recently proposed federal law, the bipartisan Protect Our Clothes from PFAS Act, around which some major business interests—including trade groups American Apparel and Footwear Association, Outdoor Industry Association, and L.L. Bean—have rallied, could help further push for positive change. The bill, if passed into law, would not ban PFAS outright, but it does complement state PFAS bans by removing trade barriers to enable PFAS alternatives to compete on a more level playing field.
As regulations shift and materials change, knowing what to buy can be tricky. The Environmental Working Group has compiled a guide using third-party verification to identify apparel brands (and other consumer goods) that are legitimately swapping PFAS for safer chemicals. Search “Many companies market alternatives for products that contain PFAS” on their website, ewg.org.
If you already own outdoor gear containing PFAS, you might be wondering if it’s safe to keep using. If you’re breastfeeding, pregnant, considering becoming pregnant, or are dressing children, it’s best to buy alternatives, as these body types are the most vulnerable to PFAS. Otherwise, it might make sense to get maximum use out of your existing gear, especially when it’s going over layers and doesn’t come in direct contact with your skin for long periods of time. It’s best to spot clean these items, rather than tossing them in the washing machine, to prevent PFAS from leaching into the water.
The next time you go shopping, look for PFAS-free outdoor gear; in Connecticut, this will be much easier now that disclosures are required.
By the first of November, a few inches of snow had accumulated outside our windows, and my little one was excited to get outside. I was feeling desperate as I hadn’t yet found a new winter coat. Through researching this article, I finally located an American-made cotton oilskin jacket—naturally water- and wind- repellent—available for around the same price as middle-of-the-road synthetic options. It arrived just before single-digits and more snow. When layered with insulating materials, such as flannel, tight-woven cotton, and wool, it keeps me very comfortable while enjoying the winter weather. I was delighted to zip on my new PFAS-free jacket and head outside, knowing a positive wave of change will help all of us weather many long winters ahead.
Erica Cirino is a writer and artist who explores the intersection of the human and more-than-human worlds. She serves as communications manager at the nonprofit Plastic Pollution Coalition and is best known for her widely published photojournalistic works, including her award-winning book, Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis.