Defending Human Rights from PFAS in Consumer Products 

In 2024, Weave’s input on the intersection between gender, toxics, and human rights was cited multiple times throughout the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights’ report, which was presented to the UN General Assembly in October 2024. When the same Special Rapporteur put out a call for submissions about the impact of PFAS on human rights, we had plenty to say! 

For more than six decades, people around the world have been the subject of what amounts to a multi-generational experiment being conducted on a broad swath of humanity almost entirely without our knowledge or consent. This is not merely a massive public health issue; it’s an unseen human rights crisis on a global scale. 

Weave’s remarks focused on six specific concerns about the ways that PFAS impact gender justice and human rights:   

1.  Governments’ failure to address toxic PFAS chemicals in menstrual products interferes with the right to health of women, girls, and all people who menstruate.
2. PFAS in cleaning supplies disproportionately impact the health of women and children and violate their right to the protection of health and safety in the home and workplace.
3. PFAS in cosmetics violate the right to health and to physical integrity, disproportionately impacting women’s health. 
4. PFAS in cookware violate our right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. 
5. PFAS must be regulated as a class to avoid “regrettable substitutions.”
6. Human rights require states to apply the precautionary principle. 

Weave recommended that the UN report include:  

1. All people have a right to know whether the products they use in or on their bodies and in their workplaces contain toxics, including PFAS.   
2. To avoid “regrettable substitutions,” states must regulate PFAS as a class, rather than one chemical at a time. 
3. Governments should adopt the precautionary principle when considering the approval of products containing PFAS for use in the marketplace, requiring producers to prove that the product is safe for people and the environment throughout its lifecycle.   
4. Governments should fund research into the short- and long-term health impacts of exposure to PFAS in menstrual and intimate care products, cleaning products, cosmetics, and cookware. More research is needed to better understand the potential effects of chemical exposure on vaginal and vulvar tissue.  
5. Governments must enforce stronger worker protection laws to ensure the safety and health of people, especially low-wage workers, routinely exposed to PFAS on the job. 
6. As governments enact additional protections for workers and consumers, multinational corporations must not shift the production, marketing and sale of toxic products to states with fewer protections.  
7. Governments must enact a global “producer pays” model to ensure that producers do not externalize the cost of PFAS-related clean-up, disposal, health monitoring, and treatment onto communities and individuals. 
8. Due to their known harm to communities, the environment, and future generations, PFAS should only be used in essential products in which they are an essential ingredient, and where no less harmful substitute exists. In these rare cases, corporations using PFAS must be transparent and accountable to communities, workers, and consumers. 

Read our full submission here.