A rare causal signal in PFAS research
PFAS health research has long struggled with causality. Many earlier studies relied on correlations between PFAS levels in blood or umbilical cord samples and health outcomes, leaving room for confounding variables. What distinguishes the New Hampshire study is its methodological design.
Researchers identified 41 sites contaminated with PFOA and PFOS—two of the most widely used legacy PFAS compounds—and used topographical and hydrogeological data to determine groundwater flow direction. Birth outcomes among residents living “down-gradient” from those sites were compared with those living nearby but upstream.
Crucially, well locations and contamination data were not known to residents at the time, creating a form of natural randomization. According to the authors, this allowed them to isolate the effects of PFAS exposure more cleanly than most prior human studies.
The contaminated sites included areas influenced by a range of historical activities common across the U.S., such as chemical manufacturing, industrial waste disposal, and the use of PFAS-based firefighting foams at military installations and airports—sectors that regulators have repeatedly identified as major contributors to groundwater contamination.
Even the research team was surprised by the magnitude of the results. Infant mortality is statistically rare in the United States, making large effect sizes difficult to detect. Yet the data showed consistent and elevated risks across multiple neonatal indicators.
The economic case for prevention
Beyond health outcomes, the study quantified the economic costs of PFAS exposure. Extrapolating nationally, the researchers estimated nearly $8 billion in annual economic losses tied to increased healthcare costs and reduced lifetime productivity stemming from PFAS-related birth outcomes. By comparison, the estimated cost of complying with current U.S. drinking-water regulations for PFAS removal is approximately $3.8 billion.
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The study shows that the society pays more by tolerating PFAS contamination than by preventing it.
For the textile industry, this cost-benefit framing matters. As brands and suppliers weigh the expense of chemical substitution, wastewater upgrades and filtration technologies, the study strengthens the argument that prevention is not only ethically necessary but economically rational—particularly as courts increasingly assign liability based on foreseeability rather than intent.
Textile manufacturing and groundwater exposure
Textiles remain one of the most PFAS-intensive manufacturing sectors. PFAS are applied during wet processing to impart durable water repellency, oil resistance and stain protection, particularly in outerwear, uniforms, upholstery and carpets. These processes generate wastewater streams and treatment sludge that, if inadequately managed, can contaminate surface and groundwater.
In the United States, PFAS contamination has also been traced to carpet manufacturing regions, coated-fabric plants and textile finishing clusters where historic wastewater treatment systems were not designed to capture persistent fluorinated compounds. Similar patterns are now being documented globally.
In many textile hubs—especially in South and Southeast Asia—groundwater is the primary source of drinking water for both factory workers and surrounding communities. Industrial clusters often sit adjacent to residential areas, and effluent treatment infrastructure varies widely in quality and enforcement.
The New Hampshire study’s focus on groundwater migration is therefore highly relevant to textile supply chains. PFAS released from a single finishing facility—or from adjacent industrial activities such as paper coating, chemical storage, or waste disposal—can travel subsurface and expose populations far removed from the original discharge point. Pregnant workers and their families are among the most vulnerable.
Rising regulatory and brand risk
The findings arrive amid heightened regulatory volatility. The Biden administration finalized national drinking-water limits for six PFAS compounds and gave utilities several years to comply. Those rules are now facing political pushback, with efforts underway to roll back or weaken certain provisions.
But regulatory uncertainty does not eliminate liability. If anything, the study increases long-term legal exposure. Courts and regulators are more likely to view PFAS contamination as a foreseeable and preventable risk, particularly where safer alternatives exist and where industries continued use despite mounting evidence of harm.
For global brands, the reputational stakes are high. Associations between supply-chain pollution and infant mortality represent one of the most severe ESG risks imaginable. Investors, insurers and consumers are increasingly intolerant of chemical harms that affect children and reproductive health.
Already, major apparel brands have committed to PFAS phase-outs in specific product categories. The study is likely to accelerate buyer pressure, expand restricted substance lists and tighten supplier audits—not only in textiles, but across sectors that share water systems and industrial infrastructure.
Technology, substitution and water stewardship
From a technical standpoint, PFAS removal is possible but costly. Municipal systems rely on granular activated carbon or reverse osmosis to remove many PFAS compounds, though effectiveness varies by molecule. Similar technologies can be deployed at the factory level, but they require capital investment and operational expertise.
Chemical substitution offers a more durable solution. Over the past decade, non-fluorinated water-repellent finishes have improved in performance, though adoption remains uneven due to cost, durability concerns and legacy specifications. The study’s findings strengthen the argument that continued reliance on PFAS—particularly for non-essential applications—is increasingly indefensible.
Water stewardship will also move higher on the agenda. Providing safe drinking water to workers, testing groundwater near facilities and engaging transparently with surrounding communities are no longer peripheral CSR activities; they are core risk-management practices, particularly in regions where multiple PFAS-using industries coexist.
A turning point for chemical accountability
The New Hampshire study does not stand alone. It builds on a growing body of evidence linking PFAS exposure to cancer, immune dysfunction, liver disease and developmental harm. What makes it different—and especially consequential for the textile sector—is its demonstration of severe, measurable harm at the earliest stage of life.
For an industry already under pressure to decarbonize, improve labor conditions and reduce overproduction, chemical management may seem like one more burden. But the data increasingly suggest that PFAS represent a systemic risk that cuts across environmental, social and financial dimensions—and across sectors.
In that context, the question for textile manufacturers and brands is no longer whether PFAS will be regulated out of the system, but how quickly and at what cost. The New Hampshire findings suggest that delay carries its own price—one measured not just in dollars, but in lives.