Textiles, Apparel and Footwear: CEN Publishes PFAS Standards for Textiles

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has published EN 17681-1:2025 Textiles and textile products — Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — Part 1: Analysis of an alkaline extract using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.

This document outlines a test method that includes the degradation of certain side-chain fluorinated polymers with simultaneous alkaline hydrolysis during the extraction. It also specifies using liquid chromatography (LC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the identification and quantification of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Table 2 indicates a list of target PFAS that can be analyzed with this document.

The document applies to all textile product materials and includes significant technical changes with respect to EN 17681-1:2022, including:

• The procedure requires an extraction with simultaneous alkaline hydrolysis
• Annex E, describing methanol extraction, has been added
• Annex F, describing the analysis of certain PFAS with gas chromatography and mass selective detector (GC-MSD), based on EN 17681-2:2022, has been added
• The majority of the substance names have been aligned with EN 17892:2024
• The reference to EN 17681-2 has been deleted

Which products are impacted?

Textile materials with treatments for water or oil-repellent effects or stain-repellent coatings containing fluorine as a structural component are primarily impacted. While these properties are often not directly claimed, these substances may be present as contaminants.

How does the new method impact compliance tests?

The new method uses alkaline hydrolysis to break the covalent bonds between the polymer backbone and the fluorinated side chains, resulting in a higher concentration of PFAS, compared to the older method for the same sample.

Official source