AAFA updates industry's most trusted restricted substance list with PFAS class restrictions

Today, the American Apparel & Footwear Association published the 23rd edition of the Restricted Substance List (RSL). As an open-industry resource available to both AAFA members and the broader community, the RSL supports the industry by providing a reference of all banned and restricted chemicals and substances for finished apparel, footwear, accessories, and home textile products, identifying the most restrictive regulations worldwide.

For the first time, the RSL includes restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as a class of chemicals. The report also offers an Appendix on Reporting that covers the U.S. states whose laws require reporting of chemicals in children’s products as well as European reporting rules.

“A brands’ relationship with its customers is built on trust. Trust that is built in no small part in ensuring that the clothes and shoes our customers put on, the home textiles the sleep on and dry off with, and the accessories they carry are safe for themselves and their families. The RSL provides a trusted solution for our members – and a compact with their consumers – to provide reassurance that our members have eliminated all substances found unsafe from their products,” said AAFA President and CEO Steve Lamar.

"At a time when counterfeiters are manufacturing with no regard for product safety – and indeed allowing dangerous levels of chemicals and heavy metals (like arsenic, cadmium, phthalates, lead, and more) in the illicit products they sell to unwitting consumers, our members are proud to be leaders in product safety accountability around the world. This tool is just one part of AAFA’s ever-updated programming and initiatives to achieve highest ethical and responsible standards – so that members, consumers, workers, and the environment thrive.”

This week, AAFA convenes the industry for its 2023 Product Safety & Compliance Seminar in Long Beach, California – featuring remarks delivered by Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The Version 23 RSL covers 12 categories with more than 250 chemicals and is updated to reflect additions or changes to regulations and laws that restrict or ban certain chemicals in finished apparel, footwear, accessories, and home textile products. First published in 2007, the RSL is produced by AAFA’s RSL Task Force, which reviews and updates the list regularly to reflect the latest global regulatory changes.