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WATER-REPELLENCY
WITHOUT HAZARDOUS PFAS CHEMICALS
Dedicated to being PFAS free
Páramo products are PFAS free, which means that we use no PFAS in our manufacturing process.
We also ensure that third party textile suppliers are not using PFAS on our behalf by testing each batch of fabric we order.
This methodology has been applied to all production since 2014, therefore the stock in our warehouse is now guaranteed to be free of PFAS-treatment. All new Páramo water-repellent products carry a guaranteed PFAS treatment free label.
See the list of Páramo approved suppliers here.
Páramo works with Nikwax to find a safe alternative
Our sister company Nikwax, he has been an outspoken critic of the use of these chemicals in the outdoor industry. Nikwax has specialized in waterproofing products for use at home in a washing machine, and has never used PFAS because of the high risk of exposure to the consumer.
Nikwax aftercare products are manufactured from raw materials in Nikwax’s own facility in the UK, thereby allowing 100% confidence that PFAS are not used.
We have developed a methodology which allows us to ensure that PFAS finishes are not used on our clothing through a combination of strict specification to our suppliers, rigorous testing for the presence of fluorine, and application of a Nikwax fabric finish which we know we can trust.
Why we don’t use PFAS
PFAS are a family of chemicals with very useful water and oil repellent properties, and as a result are often applied to outdoor clothing. However, PFAS also have some very undesirable properties; all PFAS are persistent in the environment meaning they cannot be broken down by natural processes, and many members of the PFAS family have been shown to be bio-accumulative, meaning that they build up in the bodies of animals. A growing body of scientific research has also linked PFAS to a range of human health issues including damaged immune systems in children1, an increased risk of breast cancer2 and compromised fertility3.
Because PFAS don’t break down in the environment and can be easily transported in air and water, any release of these chemicals contributes to global background pollution for everyone. This is why Páramo believe that the ideal solution is to eliminate the use of PFAS in both manufacturing and aftercare.
1 Grandjean, Phillipe, Elizabeth Wrefrord Anderson, Esben Budtz-Jorgensen, Flemming Nielsen, Kare Molbak, Pal Weihe, and Carsten Heilmann. “Serum Vaccine Antibody Concentrations in Children Exposed to Perfluorinated Compounds.” The Journal of the American Medical Association 307 (2012): 391-97. (available online here)
2 Bonefeld-Jorgensen, Eva C., Manhai Long, Rossana Bossi, Pierre Ayotte, Gert Asmund, Tanja Kruger, Mandana Ghisari, Gert Mulvad, Peder Kern, Peter Nzulumiki, and Eric Dewailly. “Perfluorinated compounds are related to breast cancer risk in Greenlandic Inuit: A case control study.” Environmental Health 10 (2011): 88. (available online here)
3 Fei, C., J. K. McLaughlin, L. Lipworth, and J. Olsen. “Maternal levels of perfluorinated chemicals and subfecundity.” Human Reproduction 24 (2009): 1200-205. (available online here)
Read more about Páramo ethics
