Denmark goes it alone: Danish government wants to ban PFAS in clothes and shoes
The EU is moving too slowly.
Therefore, the Danish government now proposes a national ban on PFAS in clothing, shoes, and impregnation agents to prevent the dangerous forever chemicals from ending up in food, drinking water, and accumulating in Danes’ livers, blood, and other organs, according to a press release from the Danish Ministry of Environment.
“A national ban on the import and sale of clothes, shoes, and impregnation agents with PFAS is an important step towards limiting emissions and will have a real environmental impact in Denmark. Furthermore, we are sending a strong signal to the rest of the world that we must phase out these substances wherever possible,” Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke (S) says.
One of the biggest sources of PFAS in the air, drinking water, and other parts of the Danish environment are precisely these products, and it is about “leading the way in restricting PFAS at source” with a ban that targets sales and imports of consumer goods.
However, the national ban does not cover professional and safety clothing. PFAS are used in firefighter clothing, for example, because they repel oil, grease, and water, while at the same time making the clothing heat resistant.
The government expects to be ready to present the law behind the ban on 1 July 2025 and proposes to give businesses a transition period of one year, so that the ban applies from 1 July 2026. However, it will still be possible to use clothes, shoes, and impregnation sprays that have been bought previously, the Danish Ministry of Environment says.
Dangerous forever chemicals
The Minister of Environment does not state how the ban will be enforced or how long it will take for the effects to be visible in the Danish public health. However, it is stated that thresholds must be set in practice, which, according to the Ministry, will ensure that PFAS cannot be “deliberately” used in clothing, shoes, and impregnation agents.
This formulation recognises that PFAS are practically everywhere and are close to impossible to get rid of once they enter the environment.
Illustration: Teknologisk Institut.
For example, ahead of the national ban on PFAS in pizza boxes, popcorn bags, and other types of cardboard and paper packaging, which took effect on 1 July 2020, scientists warned that PFAS will be found in recycled cardboard and paper for decades after the ban takes effect.
“It can take many years, if they are not removed, before the level of chemicals in the recycled cardboard and paper falls to negligible levels,” explained Kostyantyn Pivnenko, who as a former researcher at DTU Environment was behind a research project that documented precisely this phenomenon.
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and includes 12,000 different chemicals.
These substances are characterised by extremely strong carbon-fluorine compounds that make PFAS water, grease, and heat repellent, which is desirable in a myriad of products and technologies ranging from rubber boots and firefighting foam to solar cells and semiconductors.
The carbon-fluorine bonds make PFAS largely indestructible.
PFAS therefore accumulate in nature and in humans, where they have a number of negative health effects. This applies, among other things, to reduced effectiveness of vaccines, increased cholesterol levels, and increased risk of several types of cancer as well as a number of other diseases.
That is why PFAS in Denmark alone cost several million—perhaps even several billion—Danish kroner per year in hospital expenses, sick days, and more.
For the individual, however, the risk is small. Even with high levels of PFAS in the blood, the cholesterol level increases by around 3 percent, while the risk of kidney cancer increases by 0.2–0.4 percent.
While researchers have today uncovered the harmful effects of a number of PFAS such as PFOS and PFOA, which are now illegal, experts have warned for years that other, legal PFAS can be just as dangerous.
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have therefore taken the initiative to ban all PFAS in the EU.
Good for consumers
The government’s proposal for a national ban comes after the Danish Consumer Council THINK has collected almost 80,000 signatures to ban PFAS in consumer products. The proposal is also welcomed by Claus Jørgensen, project manager at the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, according to Politiken.
“A ban is a major victory for the environment and for consumer safety. There are alternatives to the harmful substances, so there’s no reason to use them in everyday clothes,” he says to Politiken.
Despite the announcement, companies are struggling to find alternatives. For example, Ecco has spent years on it and still does not have a solution ready, although it is expected to be just around the corner, the Danish shoe giant’s press team claims in an email to Ingeniøren.
“Our specialists have come a long way, and we’re sticking to our goal of completely phasing out PFAS. Thus, the collections that hit the shelves in 2025 will come with alternatives that ensure the same high technical functionality,” the email states.
Meanwhile, the Danish Consumer Council THINK’s only problem with the ban is that it does not cover all textiles for private use. For example, they are also used in fabric for prams and strollers, furniture, carpets, and the like, so according to Claus Jørgensen, it would have been obvious to include them too.
According to the Danish Ministry of Environment, the national ban on PFAS in clothing, shoes, and impregnation agents is possible because there are already PFAS-free alternatives on the market today that can be used to produce rainwear, waterproof shoes, and other water-repellent, durable products.
The Danish Consumer Council THINK has also previously revealed that there are a number of PFAS-free impregnation sprays.
Green transition will increase PFAS consumption tenfold
The Danish Ministry of Environment also states that the national ban will apply until an expected EU ban comes into force, which aims to ban them everywhere except in “essential” uses. However, several years may pass before that happens. The proposal for the EU ban was presented in February last year, and the European Commission came up with its first proposal on what the term covers a few days ago.
Generally, the “most harmful substances” should continue to be allowed if they are assessed as “necessary for health or safety” or “critical for the functioning of society” because there will be more beneficial than negative effects from their continued use, even if they are classified among the most dangerous substances.
This indicates, among other things, that PFAS will still be allowed in solar cells, electrolysers, and other energy technology. With the green transition, the European Environment Agency estimates that the energy sector’s PFAS consumption will increase exponentially from 3,049 tonnes of PFAS in 2020 to 33,039 tonnes in 2050—i.e. that it will increase tenfold.
