Europe Moves to Ban Forever Chemicals as EU-Wide PFAS Restrictions Take Shape

The European Union is on the verge of the most sweeping chemical restriction in its history — a bloc-wide ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals”. While Brussels works through the regulatory process, several member states are not waiting. France already has a ban in force. Denmark has phased in restrictions of its own. And in July 2026, Sweden announced plans to ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals”, in everyday consumer products by January 2028. Together, these national moves are building momentum toward an EU-wide phase-out of the persistent toxins linked to cancer, reduced fertility, and immune system disruption.

What Are PFAS and Why Are They Called “Forever Chemicals”?

PFAS are a group of more than 10,000 synthetic chemicals used since the 1940s for their remarkable ability to repel water, oil, and stains. They appear in everything from nonstick cookware and waterproof jackets to cosmetics, food packaging, and industrial manufacturing processes.

The carbon-fluorine bond that gives PFAS their useful properties also makes them extraordinarily resistant to breakdown. These chemicals can persist in the environment for thousands of years, hence the nickname “forever chemicals”. They accumulate in soil, water, wildlife, and the human body. PFAS have been detected from the peak of Mount Everest to human blood and breast milk.

Chronic exposure to PFAS has been associated with liver damage, low birth weight, testicular and kidney cancer, hormonal dysfunction, and weakened immune responses, including reduced vaccine effectiveness in children.

The EU’s Path to a Bloc-Wide PFAS Restriction

The push for European Union-wide action began in earnest in January 2023, when five countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) submitted a joint proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) calling for a near-universal restriction on PFAS under the REACH regulation. If adopted, it would be the broadest chemical restriction in EU history, covering over 10,000 substances.

ECHA’s scientific evaluation has proceeded in stages. The Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) published its first opinion in March 2026, confirming that PFAS pose significant hazards to human health and the environment and recommending a broad restriction. The Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) launched a 60-day public consultation on its draft opinion, which closed on 25 May 2026. The consultation drew over 5,600 submissions, one of the highest volumes ECHA has ever received, driven heavily by industry stakeholders, including chemical giants Chemours, 3M, and Solvay, as well as trade associations like Cefic and PlasticsEurope.

Both committees are expected to deliver their final joint opinion by the end of 2026. From there, the file moves to the European Commission, which will draft formal legislative text and submit it to EU member states for approval. A Commission proposal is expected in 2027, though implementation could take several more years.

While the universal restriction is still under development, several targeted EU-wide PFAS measures are already in force. The EU Drinking Water Directive set a binding limit of 0.5 μg/L for total PFAS in drinking water from January 2026. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation prohibits PFAS in food-contact packaging above specific thresholds from August 2026. Restrictions on PFHxA — a subgroup of PFAS — began applying to textiles, footwear, food packaging, and cosmetics from October 2026. And in October 2025, the Commission adopted an EU-wide restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams, a major source of groundwater contamination.

The universal restriction process has not been without controversy. In August 2025, ECHA announced that eight industrial sectors, including printing, sealing, machinery, medical applications, military uses, explosives, technical textiles, and broader industrial uses such as solvents and catalysts, would not be covered by the committees’ evaluations due to time constraints. The decision sparked outrage among environmental groups, who described it as a concession to industry pressure. The European Commission is now weighing how to address these excluded sectors, including the possibility of issuing a new mandate to evaluate them separately. Meanwhile, some of the proposal’s co-sponsor countries are taking additional domestic measures. The Netherlands, for example, added all PFAS types to its national list of “substances of very high concern” in June 2026, requiring companies to implement mandatory five-year PFAS emission reduction plans.

Which European Countries Have Already Banned PFAS?

Several European countries have decided not to wait for the EU-wide process and have enacted their own national restrictions. Below is a summary of the key bans already in place or announced.

Sweden Joins the Movement: The Latest National PFAS Ban

Sweden’s July 2026 announcement is significant because it signals impatience with the pace of EU-level action. “The government wants to get ahead of the EU with a national ban,” the Ministry of Climate stated, making Sweden the latest country to act unilaterally while Brussels deliberates.

“This is a major victory for human health and for the Swedish environment,” said Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari. “PFAS should not be found in clothing, cosmetics, kitchen utensils and other everyday products when there are working alternatives.”

The proposed ban covers clothing, shoes, waterproofing agents for clothing and shoes, kitchenware, cosmetic products, and ski wax. It is part of a broader national PFAS action plan adopted the same day, which also includes measures to address existing contamination and strengthen monitoring. Civil Minister Erik Slottner emphasised the consumer protection dimension: “A ban is important to safeguard people’s health, nature, and consumer protection,” he said in the government’s official press release.

The ban is expected to take effect on 1 January 2028 and will remain in place until EU-wide regulations supersede it. Sweden’s move follows France’s landmark 2026 ban and comes as the Kallinge contamination scandal, one of the world’s worst cases of PFAS pollution, where drinking water for tens of thousands of residents was contaminated by firefighting foam, has kept public pressure high.

How Widespread Is PFAS Contamination in Europe?

The scale of PFAS contamination across Europe is staggering. The Forever Pollution Project, a cross-border investigative collaboration, mapped nearly 23,000 confirmed PFAS-contaminated sites and an additional 21,500 sites of presumptive contamination across the continent. An estimated 12.5 million Europeans live in areas with PFAS-contaminated drinking water.

In some of the worst-affected communities, residents have been advised not only to avoid tap water but also to refrain from eating homegrown vegetables or eggs, from breastfeeding, and even from letting children play outdoors.

The economic cost is equally sobering. The Forever Pollution Project, working with 18 experts, calculated that decontaminating Europe could cost more than €100 billion per year, reaching a staggering €2 trillion over 20 years, if emissions are not urgently curtailed. The European Commission’s own subsequent analysis estimated societal costs ranging from €330 billion to €1.7 trillion by 2050, depending on the regulatory scenario adopted.

In the Belgian region of Wallonia, 3M’s PFAS production site near Antwerp has become one of Europe’s most notorious contamination hotspots, with elevated PFAS levels detected in soil, groundwater, and the blood of nearby residents. The case has fuelled calls for stronger polluter-pays enforcement across the EU.

Italy has seen perhaps the most dramatic PFAS accountability case in Europe. In July 2025, 11 former executives of the chemical company Miteni were sentenced to a total of 141 years in prison for polluting water and soil across a 100-square-kilometre area of northern Italy with PFAS. The contamination exposed over 350,000 citizens across 21 towns to the chemicals through their drinking water. A 2024 study found 4,000 excess deaths in the affected area from cancers and cardiovascular disease linked to the pollution. The court ordered €50,000 in compensation for each affected citizen — a ruling that grassroots groups like Mamme No PFAS hope will set a precedent across Europe.

What Everyday Products Contain PFAS, and What Are the Alternatives?

PFAS are embedded in a surprising number of everyday items. They are used in nonstick cookware (PTFE, commonly known as Teflon, commands roughly 70% of that market), water-resistant outdoor clothing and footwear, greaseproof food packaging such as pizza boxes and fast-food wrappers, stain-resistant carpets and upholstery, cosmetics, particularly waterproof mascara and long-wear foundation, and even dental floss.

The good news is that PFAS-free alternatives are increasingly available. Five main technology platforms have emerged as leading candidates to replace PFAS in functional coatings and consumer products, and researchers are also developing promising cleanup methods to destroy existing PFAS contamination:

• Silicone-based coatings provide effective water repellency for outdoor apparel, achieving near-PFAS levels of water resistance and surviving thousands of abrasion cycles.
• Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings deliver exceptional hardness and reduce moisture transmission by up to 3,000 times compared to uncoated materials.
• Sol-gel ceramics and bio-based polymers offer biodegradable options for food packaging, providing grease and water resistance without persistent chemicals.
• Plasma-deposited films and polyester-based waterproof membranes provide PFAS-free performance for outdoor gear.
• Plant-based barrier coatings derived from seaweed and agricultural byproducts offer fully biodegradable alternatives for greaseproof food packaging.

Several major brands have already shifted to PFAS-free production lines. Outdoor clothing companies Vaude, Craghoppers, and Nikwax offer PFAS-free waterproofing. H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., and UNIQLO have committed to eliminating PFAS from their supply chains. In food packaging, companies like Delipac, Vegware, and Notpla produce PFAS-free, biodegradable alternatives.

“Sweden’s proposal proves that governments don’t have to accept toxic chemistry as the price of modern life,” said Sian Sutherland, co-founder of anti-plastic campaign group A Plastic Planet. “Safer alternatives already exist, and Sweden has shown that governments can and should choose to back them.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Will PFAS be banned in Europe?

Yes, a broad EU forever chemicals ban is moving through the regulatory process. ECHA’s scientific committees are expected to deliver their final opinion by the end of 2026, with a European Commission legislative proposal anticipated in 2027. However, the final scope and timeline remain subject to political negotiation, and eight industrial sectors have been excluded from the current evaluation.

Are forever chemicals illegal?

PFAS are not yet illegal at the EU level, but they are increasingly restricted. Several member states, including Denmark, France, and soon Sweden, have enacted national bans on PFAS in specific consumer products. The proposed EU-wide restriction would make these bans bloc-wide, though with exemptions for essential medical and strategic industrial uses.

What is worse, PFAS or microplastics?

Both PFAS and microplastics are persistent environmental pollutants that pose risks to human health, but they differ in key ways. PFAS are chemical compounds that can cause direct toxic effects, including links to cancer and hormonal disruption, even at very low concentrations. Microplastics are physical particles that can carry other pollutants and cause inflammation. PFAS are generally considered more directly hazardous because of their chemical toxicity, but both represent serious, interconnected pollution challenges requiring urgent regulation.

Do Ziploc bags contain PFAS?

Most standard polyethylene Ziploc-style bags do not intentionally contain PFAS. However, some grease-resistant food packaging, particularly paper-based wrappers, pizza boxes, and moulded fibre containers, may use PFAS-based coatings. When in doubt, look for packaging labelled PFAS-free, or choose glass and stainless steel containers for food storage.

What can consumers do to reduce PFAS exposure?

Consumers can take several practical steps: choose PFAS-free cookware (cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic), avoid stain-resistant treatments on furniture and carpets, check outdoor clothing labels for PFAS-free certifications, filter drinking water with activated carbon or reverse osmosis systems, and reduce reliance on greaseproof food packaging by preparing food at home and using reusable containers.

The growing momentum isn’t confined to Europe. In the United States, Maine became the first state to ban PFAS in all products, setting a precedent that influenced the European policy debate. The growing wave of European PFAS bans, from Denmark’s early action on food packaging to France’s broad 2026 prohibition to Sweden’s upcoming 2028 restrictions, signals a decisive shift away from these persistent toxins. As the EU works toward its own bloc-wide regulation, the actions of individual member states are both raising the bar and building momentum. “Europe now has the opportunity to break free from a toxic legacy that has been allowed to continue for far too long,” said Sutherland. “Protecting people must always come before protecting industry. The solutions are here. What has been missing is the political will to accelerate the transition away from these unnecessary chemicals.”