Root cause investigation of PFOS contaminations in leather
garments
Abstract
Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and a number of related perfluorinated compounds areused in numerous industrial and consumer products. For leather products PFOS and otherperfluorinated chemicals can be used for water repellent finishes. In March 2013
Greenpeace informed the company G-Star about amounts of PFOS in a leather jacket andgloves of its collection. The company was seriously concerned about these PFOS results
and action was taken to stop worldwide distribution of the articles. Help was gathered fromthe Dutch and German authorities and support from the Association of the manufacturers ofchemicals was asked to handle these issues adequately. After that a thorough root cause
investigation was started.

Substituted substance(s)1. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)CAS No. 1763-23-1 EC No. 217-179-8 Index No. 607-624-00-8
Chemical group Sulphonic acid derivatives
Classification
The substance has no harmonised classification according to Annex VI of Regulation(EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation)» Search ECHA’s Classification and Labelling Inventory

Other type of alternativeApplication
SectorManufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, leather and related products
Process
Conditioning
DyeingFinishing (metal, wood, ceramics, textiles etc.)
Enterprise using the alternative
State of Implementation Pilot study
Date when alternative was implemented and in what country
Availability of alternative(s)Producer or supplierSee contact information supplierReliability of information
Evidence of implementation: there is evidence that the solution was implemented and in use
at time of publication

Hazard assessment
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) is toxic to environment and reproduction andsuspected of causing cancer. PFOS is listed in the Substance Database according toSUBSPORT Screening Criteria (SDSC).
» Check the Substance Database according to SUBSPORT Screening Criteria (SDSC)

Substitution description
In order to ensure that the leather collection does not contain any PFOS a thorough root
cause investigation has been initiated. In conjunction with its leather supplier the company
has worked out a step by step approach looking into details of each step of themanufacturing processes. In parallel an extensive PFOS testing program was initiated on allleather items in stock. The company did face the problem that PFOS was also detected initems from stock and took immediate and appropriate action to not market these products
and find the root cause.
PFOS has a potential for long range environmental transport and is classified as persistentorganic pollutant (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention, with significant health risks towildlife and people. PFOS is the main ingredient in many stain repellent finishes. Also used
as: binder in non-woven fabrics to enhance dyeing; wetting agents to improve coverage andpenetration of substances; achieve finish-on-yarn uniformity; water resistance; oil resistantcoatings on textiles, leather, and other.
During four months an intensive root cause investigation has been undertaken at the facilityof the leather supplier. All process steps were mapped out clearly. A lot of information wasprovided on chemicals used, chemical suppliers and Safety Data Sheets. In terms ofchemicals used, no issues were detected. Chemical suppliers are well known and a possible
contamination/unintended use can be neglected. Also the supplier confirmed that nowater/oil repellency chemicals are used. Testing was also conducted on fresh water (groundwater) and water after reverse osmosis treatment, no PFOS was detected. To be able toinvestigate further, an on-site audit was performed by Sustainable Textile Solutions at thefacility in India, Sustainable Textile Solutions is a program that enables brands and retailers
to monitor and improve the capability of their supply chain and achieve compliance to theirenvironmental, health and safety standards. The outcome of the review on the chemicals
used, did confirm the assumption, no issues were detected. Further possible PFOS sourceswere identified, so as wooden pallets on which leather hides are transported. As pallets aretreated with insecticides, contamination problems of PFOS could possibly result from there.
Immediate action was taken to replace wooden pallets by heat treated ones. Teflon coatedironing boards, waxing material, patting boards (coated paper), cutting boards and seam
sewing aids were all tested on PFOS, however nothing was detected. The company was notable to identify the tannery nor the garment factory as the possible root cause of the PFOS
contamination faced.

Due to this fact, special attention has been given to the hide/wet blue. Wet blue production
involves removing unwanted substances (salt, flesh, hair, and grease) from a rawhide (bysoaking in a bath of lime and sodium sulfide to dissolve hair and flesh), trimming it, treating it
to impart the desired grain and stretch, and finally soaking it in a chrome bath to preventdecomposition).
The supplier usually tests wet blue before production; however it is not a common practiceto test wet blue on PFOS. A new testing procedure has been implemented to check wetblue on PFOS. In conjunction with the supplier the company agreed on an intense wet blue
testing for the coming leather production. Based on hides/animal, countries and quantities atest based on the acceptable quality limit (AQL) calculation has been carried out. The AQL isthe worst tolerable process average (mean) in percentage or ratio that is still considered
acceptable; that is, it is at an acceptable quality level. Therefore a large number of PFOS
tests were conducted in order to detect PFOS at wet blue stage and eliminate certain
batches prior to the production process/tanning. At this point in time more than 100 tests on
wet blue have been carried out. By this additional step prior to production it is possible toensure that there will be no garments placed on the market containing PFOS.
The company believes that the failure results from contaminated water used in the wet blue
tannery. A PFOS concentration of 5ppb – 6ppb in contaminant water can possibly result inthe trace levels of 1.1ppb -2.0ppb which were detected in its collection of leather products
from stock.
With this root cause outcome it should be possible to detect potential high risk wet blue
suppliers based on country/animal if assumption can be proven. Further investigation by thecompany will be conducted.

Case/substitution evaluation
This case story is a report about a root cause investigation of PFOS contaminations found inleather garments provided by G-Star. It shows that the root cause of this contamination
problem is resulting from the wet blue. Also in the wet blue stage PFOS is not used
intentionally, but it is a contamination problem. Wet blue is traded globally by leather
tanneries, a part of the supply chain which is generally difficult to influence. This case story,
however, presents a way to deal with this challenge and to produce leather garments free ofPFOS-contaminations.
Other solutions
Further information
Further languages available

Who provided the information
Type of information supplier
Producer / distributor
Contact
G-Star - CR@g-star.com