A French ban on the production and sale of cosmetics and most clothing containing polluting and health-threatening “forever chemicals” went into force on Thursday.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals used since the late 1940s to mass produce the non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant treatments that coat everything from frying pans to umbrellas, carpets and dental floss.
Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down − earning them their “forever” nickname − they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water.
These chemicals have been detected virtually everywhere on Earth, from the top of Mount Everest to inside human blood and brains.
Chronic exposure to even low levels of the chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birthweights and several kinds of cancer.
The French law, approved by lawmakers in February, bans the production, import or sale from January 2026 of any product for which an alternative to PFAS already exists.
These include cosmetics and ski wax, as well as clothing containing the chemicals, except certain “essential” industrial textiles.
A ban on non-stick saucepans was removed from the draft law after intense lobbying from the owners of French manufacturer Tefal.
It will also make French authorities regularly test drinking water for all kinds of PFAS.
There are thousands of different PFAS and certain ones have been banned since 2019 under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, but China and the US are not among the more than 150 signatories.
This includes perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used since the 1950s by US company DuPont to manufacture its non-stick Teflon coating for textiles and other everyday consumer products.
The Stockholm Convention also bans perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), known for its use as a waterproofing agent by the US group 3M, which has been heavily restricted since 2009.
A handful of US states, including California, implemented a ban on the intentional use of PFAS in cosmetics beginning in 2025, and several other states are slated to follow in 2026.
Denmark will ban the use of PFAS in clothing, footwear and certain consumer products with waterproofing agents beginning on July 1, 2026.
Denmark has banned the use of PFAS in food packaging since 2020.
The EU has been studying a possible ban on the use of PFAS in consumer products, but has not yet presented or implemented such a regulation.
What we know about how ‘forever chemicals’ affect health
Invisible, omnipresent “forever chemicals” have been linked to a wide range of serious effects on human health, prompting growing calls for them to be banned.
While there is firm evidence that at least one of the more than 4,000 human-made chemicals called PFAS causes cancer, researchers are still attempting to fully understand their broader health impacts.
Here is what we know so far.
What are PFAS?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1940s to withstand intense heat and repel water and grease.
They have since been used in a vast range of household and industrial products including food packaging, make-up, stain-proof fabrics, nonstick cookware and flame retardants.
Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down − earning them their “forever” nickname − they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water.
These chemicals have been detected virtually everywhere on Earth, from the top of Mount Everest to inside human blood and brains.
Two biggest culprits
The two most researched PFAS compounds have already been banned or restricted in many countries, though they remain detectable throughout the environment.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was once used to make the non-stick cookware coating Teflon, was in December classified as “carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The World Health Organisation agency said there was “sufficient evidence” that PFOA gave animals cancer during experiments, as well as “limited evidence” of renal cell and testicular cancer in humans.
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), once the key ingredient in the Scotchgard brand of fabric protector, was meanwhile ruled “possibly carcinogenic to humans”.
There was limited proof of cancer in animals but “inadequate evidence regarding cancer in humans”, the IARC said.
Other linked diseases
More broadly, observational studies have suggested that exposure to PFAS chemicals is associated with increased rates of cancer, obesity, thyroid, liver and kidney disease, higher cholesterol, low birthweight, infertility and even weaker responses to vaccines.
But such observational research cannot prove that the chemicals directly cause these health problems, health authorities say.
There are thousands of PFAS, making it difficult to study them or to determine with certainty the impacts of any given substance.
Risk can also vary greatly depending on levels of exposure − almost everyone on Earth is believed to have at least a little PFAS in their bodies.
According to the IARC, most at risk for serious PFAS exposure are people who work with them directly in manufacturing, such as in the food, textile or electronic industries.
Question of exposure
Exactly what level of PFAS exposure is hazardous has been a matter of debate.
Previously, guidelines in numerous countries ruled that having less than 100 nanogrammes of PFAS per litre of tap water was safe.
But the US has proposed lowering the limit to four nanogrammes of PFOA and PFOS per litre − and the EU is considering following suit.
A 2023 media investigation found PFAS levels over 100 nanogrammes per litre at 2,100 sites across Europe and Britain.
The level soared to over 10,000 nanogrammes at 300 of the sites, according to the investigation carried out by 16 newsrooms.
One large study last year found “alarming” levels of PFAS chemicals in Europe’s rivers, lakes and groundwater, while another detected a substance linked to “forever chemicals” in EU bottled and tap water.
‘Chemical whack-a-mole’
Further complicating the ability to comprehend the health effects of PFAS is that new compounds are still being developed.
Potentially dangerous compounds are sometimes simply replaced by less-studied members of the PFAS family, researchers have warned.
An environmental researcher at Harvard University, Elsie Sunderland, has called this process “chemical whack-a-mole”.
Calls for action
Environmentalists and health experts across the world have increasingly sounded the alarm.
The EU was also considering a Europe-wide ban on PFAS from as early as 2026.
What can you do?
It is nearly impossible to avoid consuming minuscule amounts of PFAS.
But experts recommend reducing contact with nonstick cookware and grease-proof food packaging such as fast food wrappers.
Drinking filtered or bottled water and storing leftovers in glass containers instead of plastic could also help.