A short lesson in what you wear
Your lipstick is more regulated than your leggings.
Every pigment in a lipstick is FDA-approved. A garment's only labeling requirement is its fiber content — nothing about the chemistry applied to it. Here is what we learned when we went looking.
1 in 4
pairs of leggings and yoga pants tested in an independent investigation showed the presence of PFAS, chemicals linked to cancer and hormone disruption.
Source: EHN.org × Mamavation
What We Believe
There is no acceptable level of PFAS or BPA in the clothes you sweat in. We built Definite Articles to prove a brand could say that and mean it.
This is not a settled problem. Since 2022, the Center for Environmental Health has issued legal notices to dozens of major activewear brands whose garments tested at up to 40 times California's limit for BPA, a hormone disruptor. Four years on, the notices are still going out, to names most people trust. Not one flagged brand has chosen to publish what is in its fabric.
We do the opposite. Every finished garment is independently tested by Intertek, one of the world's largest testing labs, before it ships — tested free from PFAS | BPA and more than 50 other chemicals of concern. We name what we look for, and we share what we find.
The most useful thing to know
It is rarely the fiber.
Cotton, wool, nylon or polyester — the fiber is usually the innocent party. What matters is what happens to it on the way to becoming a garment. Follow one piece of fabric through the mill:
So we start at the source: we never treat our synthetics with performance chemicals. No stain finish, no odor treatment, no chemistry added for the fitting room. Then we test the finished garment to confirm it.
21,000
Years
How long you would have to drink water at the EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level for PFAS to reach the amount reported in one tested legging.
"Nobody eats their leggings." That is not the point.
Your drinking water has a legal PFAS limit. Your clothes do not.
Illustration only — skin absorption from fabric hasn't been quantified. Source: EHN.org/pfas-clothing
The bigger picture
Where the rules stand.
There is still no federal limit on PFAS in clothing. In its absence, individual states have begun writing their own — and the map is changing fast. A working reference, for anyone who wants to read past the label.
Last reviewed July 2026. Laws change; verify current status before relying on any date.
State PFAS-in-apparel laws
Each links to the state’s own government page for the law.
The federal picture: the EPA set the first enforceable national limits for PFAS in drinking water in 2024 — four parts per trillion. For the clothing on your skin, there is still no federal limit at all. Which is why the list above exists, and why it keeps growing: roughly 350 PFAS bills moved through 39 state legislatures in 2025 alone.
Worth reading
This page is a starting point, not legal advice. External links go to third-party sources we found useful; we don't control their content. If a date here looks out of step with your state, the state's own environmental agency is the authority.
A word on certifications
Certified is not one thing.
A textile certification can be earned at a single step, not the whole garment. The same badge can cover the yarn, the fabric before it is cut and sewn, or the finished piece — and only the last of those is tested exactly as it reaches you. Even a familiar mark tests to acceptable limits, meaning some amount of a chemical is allowed; several did not screen for PFAS at all until recently.
The point worth remembering
Even organic fabric can pick up chemistry after it is certified. Only a finished-garment test sees what you wear.
Chemicals Screened
BPA, PFAS, lead, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and dozens more — screened by Intertek.
Finished-Garment Standard
Tested free from PFAS | BPA as it reaches you — not the yarn, not the fabric, the finished garment.
Results Shared
Every test is available to you on request. Transparency is the baseline, not a bonus.
Lower Environmental Footprint
Synthetics that biodegrade.
Our fabrics use CiCLO® technology — natural compounds embedded throughout the fiber that attract microbes when discarded, breaking down at rates comparable to wool instead of persisting for centuries. Performance without environmental permanence.
Same stretch. Same durability. A built-in exit strategy.
Learn about CiCLO® technologyQuestions worth asking.
"I've tried every sustainable brand and these are the best by a wide margin."
— Jenny C, verified buyer
