New York (CNN) It has been found that more and more sports bra and sportswear brands contain high levels of BPA, a chemical compound used to make certain types of plastic that can have adverse health effects such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and obesity, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
After warning its customers about BPA in athletic apparel in October, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) said it had sent out legal notices to eight more brands whose leggings, shorts, sports bras and athletic shirts had been tested, that the clothing could expose the wearer to levels of up to 5%, 40 times the safe limit of BPA, based on standards set in California.
Under California law – specifically Proposition 65 of 1986 – the maximum allowable dose of BPA through the skin is 3 micrograms per day.
The California-based company CEH, which conducted the tests, was founded in 1996 as a non-profit consumer advocacy group. Alarm bells have been ringing over chemicals in furniture, carpets and flooring, and lead and cadmium in children’s jewelry. It advises universities, companies and hospitals on possible chemical hazards in products.
Newly tested sportswear brands and their products include leggings from Athleta, Champion, Kohl’s, Nike and Patagonia, sports bras from Sweaty Betty, sports shirts from Fabletics and shorts from Adidas, Champion and Nike. CNN has reached out to the companies for comment.
An Athleta spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday: “As a certified B-Corp, Athleta is committed to ensuring that all of our products meet applicable safety standards. We believe the CEH claims are unfounded and stand by our products and practices.”
Earlier in October, the CEH warned consumers that sports bras from Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike and FILA tested for BPA over a six-month period showed that the Clothing wearers may be exposing to the environment up to 22 times the safe BPA limit based on standards set in California.
The group also tested sports shirts from brands like The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance and Reebok in October and found similar results.
CEH had sent out legal notices to the companies last year, giving them 60 days to work with the center to fix the violations before the group filed a complaint in California state court asking them to do so. The group said it subsequently launched lawsuits against the companies in February.
So far, the regulator said its investigations found BPA only in polyester-based clothing with elastane content. “We want brands to reformulate their products to remove all bisphenols, including BPA. In the meantime, we recommend limiting the time you spend in your gym clothes by changing them after you exercise,” the group said.
Athleta, Nike, Reebok, The North Face and Victoria’s Secret (which owns PINK) have not commented on CNN at this time.
BPA (Bisphenol A) is found in a variety of everyday products, from bottled water and canned foods to toys and flooring. In adults, exposure to BPA has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and erectile dysfunction.
Premature death was also linked to BPA exposure, according to a 2020 study. More recently, BPA has also been linked to asthma in school-age girls.
“People are exposed to BPA through ingestion, through consumption of food or drinking water from containers in which BPA has been leached, or through skin absorption,” Kaya Allan Sugerman, CEH program director for illicit toxic threats, said in a statement.
“Studies have shown that if you handle receipt paper for seconds or minutes, BPA can be absorbed through the skin and enter the bloodstream. Sports bras and sports shirts are worn for hours and hours and you sweat.” So finding such high levels of BPA in our clothing is worrying,” said Allan Sugerman.
Last year, the group asked more than 90 companies, including Walgreens and socks and nightwear brand Hypnotic Hats, to reformulate their products to remove all bisphenols, including BPA. Some have already agreed to this.
“Even at low loads [to BPA] during pregnancy have been linked to a variety of health problems in the offspring,” said Dr. Jimena Díaz Leiva, Scientific Director at CEH.
Although CEH is litigating under California’s Clean Drinking Water and Toxics Enforcement Act of 1986, it said the implications of its settlements extend beyond California “because in most cases it is not economically feasible for corporations to reformulate just for the Californian.” to make market”.
“Our legal actions have been successful and have pushed entire industries to remove certain chemicals from products such as children’s candy or toys,” the group said in a statement to CNN Business in October. “These cases are designed to protect not only California consumers, but consumers across the country.”
—- CNN’s Sandee LaMotte contributed to this story