By Michelle Boren, Founder of SacredLee
I was a reactive child long before I had language for it. Scratchy, inexpensive clothing could send my skin into hives. I was allergic to pets, pollen, trees, cow's milk. Pneumonia arrived so reliably every February it almost felt scheduled. Penicillin once closed my throat. My mother's body was reactive too, eventually turning on itself through an autoimmune condition doctors knew how to manage, but never really knew how to explain.
I was not allergic to nature. I was reacting to a world my body seemed to notice before I did.
I was a canary. So was she. Neither of us knew it.
That history is exactly why PFAS in leggings and activewear is a conversation I take personally. These chemicals have been used in some performance textiles to create water-, stain-, and oil-resistant finishes, which means the clothing we pull tight against our skin for hours at a time deserves more scrutiny than most of us have ever given it.
SacredLee was not born from research alone. It was born from a lifetime of symptoms the system often called mystery, and from years of asking what else might be contributing.
What we wear. What touches our skin. What we breathe. What we absorb.
What accumulates quietly over time.
The chemical conversation has found its moment.
Here is what I think every woman deserves to know about what may be sitting against her skin for hours at a time.
What Are BPA and PFAS in Leggings, and Why Do They Matter?
BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a synthetic estrogen. It mimics the body's own hormones, disrupts hormone receptors, and has been linked to reproductive harm, immune disruption, and cancer risk.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of over 12,000 manufactured chemicals known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the body or the environment.
Both are endocrine disruptors. Both are absorbed through skin. Both accumulate over time. And both show up in activewear worn directly against skin for extended periods, which is exactly the category leggings, sports bras, and other close-fitting synthetic clothing fall into.
What Did the Texas Attorney General's Lululemon Investigation Find?
On April 13, 2026, the Texas Attorney General's office opened a civil investigative demand into the potential presence of PFAS in Lululemon activewear. Lululemon stated in response that it had "phased out PFAS in fiscal 2023" and that the chemicals were "previously used in a small percentage of water-repellent products only."
This isn't an isolated action. Texas has separately brought suit against 3M and DuPont over PFAS misrepresentation, and California and New York banned intentionally added PFAS in textiles as of January 1, 2025.
Every woman deserves full transparency about what is in the products pressed against her skin. That is not a political position. It is a basic expectation.
How Does PFAS End Up in Leggings and Activewear?
PFAS are applied as a coating called DWR, durable water repellent, to create sweat-wicking, water-resistant, and stain-repellent properties. The industry's long-chain C8 chemistry (linked to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disruption, and immune suppression) was largely phased out in favor of shorter-chain C6 chemistry, marketed as safer. Research since has shown C6 is roughly as persistent in the environment. The industry is now moving toward C0, fluorine-free chemistry, but that transition is voluntary, uneven across brands, and difficult for a shopper to verify from a label alone.
One detail worth knowing: PFAS-treated fabric doesn't necessarily stay at a fixed concentration. A peer-reviewed 2020 study on DWR clothing found that as the coating weathers and ages through normal wear and washing, PFAS concentrations in the fabric can increase by 5 to more than 100-fold, and some compounds that were undetectable in new garments became detectable after aging. In other words, an older, well-worn PFAS-treated jacket or legging may carry a heavier load than the same item did new.
Does Sweating During Exercise Increase How Much You Absorb?
This is worth being precise about, because it's easy to overstate. Skin absorption of any given chemical depends primarily on molecular size and lipid solubility, not on exercise alone. What's well established in dermatology is that heat and moisture, exactly the conditions of a workout, act as genuine penetration enhancers: they increase blood flow to skin, open pores, and make the skin barrier more permeable to whatever's sitting on its surface. So the "second skin" concern with activewear specifically, worn tight, for hours, often while sweating, is a reasonable one grounded in real dermatology. It just isn't a single, fixed percentage that applies to every chemical and every body.
Why Is Vulvar Tissue More Vulnerable to These Chemicals?
This is the part of the conversation that gets skipped most often. Peer-reviewed research, going back to Farage and Maibach's 2004 review of vulvar epithelium, has established that vulvar tissue differs structurally from the keratinized skin found elsewhere on the body: it's thinner, more hydrated, less protected by the same barrier layers, and more susceptible to friction. Multiple studies in this line of research describe it as meaningfully more permeable than typical skin, and the vaginal mucosa specifically is classified in pharmacology as an effective drug delivery route precisely because of how readily it absorbs compounds into the bloodstream.
This matters directly for leggings: independent testing has found that PFAS concentrations in activewear are frequently highest in the crotch area, precisely because that's the zone engineered for maximum sweat-wicking. And PFAS has been found to accumulate in vulvar tissue at higher levels than in other tissues of the body.
Are Children More Vulnerable to Chemicals in Their Clothes?
Yes. Children are smaller, their skin barrier is still developing, and they take in more exposure relative to their body weight than an adult would. Add in the fact that childhood is such an important window for growth and hormonal development, and what sits against their skin for hours at a time deserves a little more attention. This does not mean every synthetic garment is dangerous. It means close-fitting clothing, especially activewear worn repeatedly, is one place where choosing simpler, better-vetted materials can make sense.
Is BPA Really in Sports Bras and Activewear?
The documentation continues to get stronger on this. The Center for Environmental Health found BPA in sports bras and athletic shirts at levels up to 22 times California's Prop 65 safe limit in its original October 2022 legal notices, naming brands including Athleta, PINK, The North Face, Asics, Nike, FILA, Mizuno, New Balance, and Reebok. An expanded round of testing in May 2023, covering additional brands including Champion, Patagonia, Sweaty Betty, Fabletics, and Adidas, found levels as high as 40 times the safe limit. A sports bra sits against breast tissue for hours at a time, under exactly the conditions, heat and sweat, that increase dermal absorption.
Where You Have Agency
I am not asking you to throw out everything in your drawer today. The earth cannot absorb that onslaught, and neither can your nervous system.
Prioritize what touches your most permeable skin first: sports bras, leggings worn close to the body, anything worn during heavy sweating. When you do replace items, consider ThredUp, a brand take-back program, or Goodwill before the trash bin.
Look for organic cotton, merino wool, TENCEL™ Lyocell, or PYRATEX® Power III (a plant-based fabric with recycled stretch), and prioritize items carrying OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and REACH compliance certification. Be cautious of "eco-friendly" marketing on recycled polyester specifically: it's still synthetic, may degrade with each recycling pass, still sheds microplastics, and can carry the same DWR residue as virgin polyester.
Older, well-worn outerwear with water-repellent finishes, rain jackets, ski shells, anything DWR-treated, is a legitimate replacement priority given the weathering finding above. For children specifically, close-fitting garments worn daily are the first swap worth making; organic cotton with minimal finishing is widely available and affordable.
Clean Up the Terrain
Alongside reducing new exposure, there's real value in supporting your body's own elimination pathways. Start with dry brushing before your shower, two minutes, which stimulates the lymphatic system and helps move what has accumulated just beneath the surface. Movement, sweating, warm baths, and sauna sessions all support this same process.
If you want to go further with binders or supportive protocols, a simple sequence: begin with fulvic acid to prepare detox pathways, maintain consistent hydration and daily movement, and once you're eliminating consistently, consider adding a binder 30 minutes before a sauna session, away from food and other supplements, starting at a low dose every other day. Watch for fatigue, constipation, or irritability as signs to slow down rather than push through. Brands I trust in this category include Biocidin and Quicksilver Scientific.
The terrain does not need to be shocked. It needs to be honored. Consistency matters more than intensity.
Why SacredLee Exists
What rests closest to your body matters most. The skin is not a wall. It is a membrane.
We would rather lose the commission than lose your trust. That means we do not approve brands because they market themselves as clean. We approve them because we can verify it. If you want to understand exactly how that vetting works, Our Five Pillars & Five-Stage Vetting Standard lays out the full process, and if PFAS exposure beyond clothing is on your mind, Forever Chemicals and Fertility covers the broader picture.