The hidden chemicals in your kit

With a ban looming on the horizon, manufacturers are having to reinvent cycling clothing. Simon Smythe investigates

- Simon Smythe

When buying a new piece of cycling kit, what do you look for? Fit of course, style no doubt too. Then there's functionality; will it do what it's designed to do? All these are important considerations. But what about the chemicals used within the fabric, and more importantly the damage they will end up doing to the wider world? Until recently absolutely no one was thinking about these polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when scrolling through an online store looking for their next piece of kit.

These substances, known as 'forever chemicals' aren't just used in cycling kit. They can be found in various foams, pacemakers, non-stick pans and thousands of other everyday products.

PFAS are resistant to heat, oil, grease and crucially for us and our kit, water. The problem is they are an ecological disaster waiting to happen. They were given the name 'forever chemicals' because they don't break down. Ever. Which means they will eventually find their way into our water systems and soil where they will stay for hundreds of years.

If they are not minimised, says the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), "people, plants and animals will be increasingly exposed, and without a restriction, such levels will be reached that have negative effects on people's health and the environment. The authorities estimate that around 4.4 million tonnes of PFASS would end up in the environment over the next 30 years unless action is taken."

Audun Heggelund of the Norwegian Environment Agency outlines the scale of the problem: "You can find PFAS in penguins in the Antarctic, in polar bears in the Arctic, even in rainwater in Tibet."