Britons may unknowingly be risking their health by wearing waterproof jackets made with “permanent chemicals”.
Scientists have been warning for years about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they can remain in the environment for hundreds of years, they have been linked to everything from cancer and high cholesterol to infertility.
When PFAS enter the body, either through the food and water that people eat and drink or by breathing in contaminated air, they can spread throughout the body in tissues and organs.
Now, a social media influencer known for his outdoor videos has claimed that PFAS could be lurking in Arc’teryx’s popular jackets.
This is despite the brand claiming that the tested waterproof jacket contains a new PFAS-free material: the ePE membrane.
“It is a great advance in sustainability that we commit to incorporating into our entire line of GORE-TEX jackets by the end of 2025,” says the Canadian brand.
But hiking and outdoor influencer Steven Smith, who has more than 220,000 followers on his mylifeoutdoor Instagram account, said he found “five different toxic PFAS chemicals” after 24 hours of testing the jacket.
Now, a social media influencer known for his outdoor videos has claimed that PFAS could be lurking in Arc’teryx’s popular jackets.
Hiking and outdoor influencer Steven Smith, who has more than 220,000 followers on his mylifeoutdoors Instagram account, said he found “five different toxic PFAS chemicals” after 24 hours of testing the jacket.
In the video, he put the yellow jacket into a self-made machine that recirculated distilled water over the jacket for a full day.
Tests carried out on the water before the experiment confirmed that there were no traces of PFAS.
“All five different toxic chemicals are released from the coating, including 21 parts per billion (ppt) of PFBA,” a type of PFAS, he said.
“This jacket is made of toxic chemicals called PFAS,” he added.
Among the other four chemicals were 0.65 ppt of PFOA, a different type of PFAS, he said.
According to Arc’teryx, this should have been removed from his clothing in 2016.
MailOnline has contacted Arc’teryx for comment.
The Government said in February it was considering restricting the use of PFAS in consumer products under the UK’s REACH chemical regulations on the basis that they may be dangerous.
In the UK, other popular outdoor clothing brands, Páramo and Finisterre, say they do not use PFAS in their products, while Fjällräven, Alpkit, Lowe Alpine and Patagonia are mostly PFAS-free.
They and more than a dozen other companies say they will stop using PFAS next year.
However, in June, research by Ethical Consumer found that more than 8 in 10 outdoor clothing brands were still using PFAS to make outdoor clothing.
The campaign magazine said that of the 27 companies it evaluated, 82 percent had products that contained those kinds of chemicals.
Nearly half of all companies also did not have a phase-out date for PFAS use, Ethical Consumer said.
Famed for their durability and stain-resistant properties, PFAS have been used in a host of products, from nonstick cookware to clothing, packaging, cosmetics, and even children’s toys.
But industries are now moving away from them due to their detrimental impacts.
PFAS have previously been linked to kidney, prostate, and breast cancer, among others.
While these links are not definitive and research is ongoing, part of the concern is that PFAS are so ubiquitous in modern life and persist for so long in the environment that they could infiltrate water supplies, further increasing plus the exhibition.