REI extends PFAS ban to all textile products
Outdoor retailers’ cooperative REI, headquartered near Seattle, has issued a second update to the product impact standards it first announced in 2018.
The organisation described the guidelines as one way to elevate expectations and maintain accountability around the products it sells and their supply chains, notably in terms of chemicals management, environmental targets and widening outdoor participation.
Important updates for its 1,000-plus brand partners include the expected phase-out of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from all textile products supplied to REI by autumn 2026 at the latest.
This does not include apparel, footwear, accessories, pack and bag textile articles already covered by California Assembly Bill 1817, however, all of which must be PFAS-free by autumn 2024. All cookware sold by REI should similarly be free of PFAS by this time, according to version 3.0 of the product impact standards.
“The products we carry represent our greatest opportunities to support better ways of doing business,” commented vice-president of product at the cooperative, Chris Speyer.
Learn more about PFAS in our WSA features section here and here.
Image credit: Dustin Kingman/REI.
