A consumer advocacy group’s recent report raises urgent health questions about other next-to-skin layers Outside’s long reads email newsletter features our strongest writing, most ambitious reporting, and award-winning storytelling about the outdoors. Sign up today .
New testing by a consumer advocacy group warns that a number of sports bras and athletic shirts on the market contain high levels of bisphenol A, or BPA, an industrial chemical that has been linked to cancer and other health concerns when exposed to the human body. The finding is prompting scientists and gear makers to more closely inspect next-to-skin materials.
“We feel like this is probably the tip of an iceberg and that there’s a lot more out there,” says Jimena Díaz Leiva, science director at the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), which conducted the testing and released the results in mid-October.
After six months of research, her team detected up to 22 times the safe limit of BPA, per California law , in polyester and spandex sports bras made by The North Face, Brooks, Nike, All in Motion, PINK, Asics, Athleta, and FILA. The group also found unhealthy levels of BPA in athletic shirts from The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance, and Reebok. The brands must respond to the violations by December 11 with their plans to remedy their materials. If they don’t, CEH plans to initiate litigation in California court.
Brooks Running says that BPA is already a banned substance in their products, and all materials are certified as safe by an […]
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