Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
PFAS restrictions for apparel, footwear, and textiles are tightening fast. California’s AB 1817 caps total organic fluorine at 100 ppm today and 50 ppm from 2027; New York and Colorado are phasing in limits, France’s national ban took effect in 2026, and the EU’s universal REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) restrictions advances. Increasingly, brands and suppliers must substantiate PFAS claims, not just assert them.
This session explains how product conformity assessment turns a test result into a defensible claim. We cover why PFAS is best assessed at the material level (substrate plus finish), how risk stratification focuses limited testing where fluorinated chemistry is most likely, and why a credible claim rests on two independent pillars: analytical testing AND process-control evidence. Crucially, attendees will see why a clean paper trail can explain a failing test but never override it—separating marketing language from genuine assurance.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- To identify the regulatory drivers making PFAS a priority across apparel and footwear supply chains—US state restrictions (e.g., California AB 1817, New York), national EU bans, and the pending EU REACH universal restriction—and the test methods they rely on (TF/TOF screening and targeted PFAS analysis).
- Why PFAS conformity is best assessed at the homogeneous-material level (substrate + finish/process), and how risk stratification (high / medium / low) directs sampling toward the materials most likely to carry fluorinated chemistry.
- How to apply a two-pillar conformity model—pairing analytical testing with process-control and documentary evidence—to distinguish a defensible PFAS claim from an unsupported one, including why documentation cannot overturn a failing test result.
Speaker:
Sravanth Kanukuntla
Global Softlines Director
Eurofins
Sravanth has 20+ years of experience in textiles, apparel, footwear, and home textiles – from raw materials to market-ready products. He guides brands through global regulations, create effective testing protocols, and simplify complex compliance challenges. Sravanth partners with clients to ensure quality, product safety, validate claims, and achieve compliance across multiple markets. He is also an active contributor in global standards and industry forums, representing Eurofins at key conferences and technical committees.
AAFA Host:
Conor O’Brien
Sustainability Policy Specialist
AAFA
Conor O'Brien joined AAFA's policy team in 2024 as its Sustainability Policy Coordinator after completing his Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Prior to joining AAFA, Conor worked for several years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston, where he engaged with RCRA compliance, state coordination, climate adaptation planning, and environmental justice application. Initially trained as a chemist at Princeton University, Conor combines scientific research with policy analysis and application to provide holistic approaches to sustainable resource usage in pursuit of a more circular economy. Conor supports the work of the AAFA Environmental Committee and AAFA Product Safety Council by engaging with public and private stakeholders on issues of sustainability, product safety, and chemical management germane to the apparel and footwear industry.
Unable to join on September 14?
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CONTACT | QUESTIONS
Stephanie Paendong