It's New School Uniform time again and I'm clearly freakish in trying to find good-quality school trousers for my rapidly growing 12-year-old daughter that aren't coated in stain-repellents, waterproofing and fabric protectors, i.e., Dupont's Teflon or some other trade-marked form of fluoropolymers.
These are made from PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), a bioaccumulative manmade chemical which is a likely human carcinogen, endocrine-disruptor and reproductive toxin, which can now be found in almost everyone and is passed on from mother to baby.
Given the global pervasiveness of PFCs (which have contaminated polar bears, and they've never been near non-stick pans), I am astonished that all the major clothing retailers are so blase about impregnating their school uniforms with it.
But, of course, having trousers (and skirts, and blazers, and shoes, and coats . . .) that can 'outsmart stains' and keep kids dry 'whatever the weather' are major selling points. No UK High Street retailer that I've found opts out of this, though there are some nasty 100-per-cent polyester ranges if you don't mind the sweatiness and the sparks.
Manufacturers have reached a voluntary agreement to eliminate PFOAs in consumer products by 2015, but fluoropolymers were exempt. Dupont is supposed to be doing biodegradation tests, but we won't know the results until 2011 at the earliest. . .
Meanwhile, a featured article by Olga Naidenko on the Environmental Working Group's website has revealed that a study by the US EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory, published on 1 July this year, found evidence that fluoropolymers like Teflon could break down into the PFCs found in the environment.
Contrary to industry claims, which state that fluoropolymers have a biodegradation half-life of well over 1000 years, agency scientists found that they have half-lives of just 10 to17 years, which implies that Teflon-coated consumer goods such as school uniforms (along with all the carpets, coats, packaging and pans) may well be a source of PFC contamination in people. And children can have PFC levels as high as adults, because proportionally they are exposed to it more.
My daughter's tall enough to wear adult clothes, so that's what I'll get her, but the issue sits very uncomfortably with the 'ethical' claims made by our supermarkets - typically the largest sellers of school uniforms.
And as for Marks and Spencer's Plan A ('Because there is no Plan B) - well, quite. I emailed their press office about M&S Stormwear (TM), a high-performance finish that is on most of their school trousers. The reply from the technologist confirmed that it was fluorocarbon based and similar to the 'Teflon' finish.
They added: 'All of our fabric mills and laundries are inspected to our strict Environmental Standards . . .and all have Effluent Treatment Plants which works to local Government guidelines across the world'. Which doesn't exactly address the issue.