A new era of standardised testing for PFAS, footwear included

In recent years, PFAS have become one of the most widely discussed topics in global chemical regulation. Thanks to their water-repellent, oil-repellent and stain-resistant properties, these substances are widely used in consumer goods such as textiles, footwear, leather, outdoor products and packaging materials. They are also known as “forever chemicals” owing to their extreme environmental persistence and bioaccumulation potential. Both the United States and the European Union continue to tighten their regulations in this area. Faced with ever more stringent requirements, brands, retailers and supply chain companies are actively seeking more efficient and comprehensive solutions for PFAS risk screening.

The PFAS family today comprises thousands of substances, a number so large that it is difficult to cover every potential risk through targeted analysis of individual molecules alone. This is why regulatory authorities and international standardisation bodies in Europe and the United States are placing growing emphasis on the Total Fluorine (TF) test.

By measuring the total amount of fluorine released by all the fluorinated compounds present in a sample, the total fluorine test acts as a PFAS screening tool. Current methods are based on combustion combined with ion chromatography analysis and are divided, depending on the combustion system used, into oxygen bomb combustion — EN 14582 — and automatic combustion, covered by ASTM D7359 and EN 17813.

In April 2026, the International Organization for Standardization published ISO 20999:2026, entitled Textiles — Determination of total halogens in textile products — Combustion and ion chromatography (C-IC) method. The standard advances the standardisation and harmonisation of total fluorine test methods for footwear, clothing and textile products.

Compared with the methods most widely used to date, ISO 20999:2026 sets out, for the first time, a unified international method for determining total halogens specifically intended for textile products, offering a technical basis more closely tailored to the footwear, clothing, textile and related consumer goods sectors. For these industries, the publication reflects a shift in global PFAS regulation, moving away from controlling individual target substances towards managing the risk associated with the entire family of fluorinated substances.

Regulatory evolution is therefore moving from restrictions on individual substances to the management of entire fluorinated chemical systems.