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EU PFHxA restrictions: check clothing, footwear and other consumer goods

Restrictions on PFHxA in specified consumer products apply from 10 October 2026. Check supplier evidence, material limits and any existing-stock exception before sending affected goods to the EU.

By Scott GillettPublished 14 Oct 2026Last reviewed 14 Oct 2026Destination: European Union
WHEN IT APPLIESPartly in force
Who this affects
UK retailers supplying covered clothing, accessories, footwear, food-contact paper/cardboard, consumer mixtures or cosmetics to the EU.
Seller action
Check before sending affected goods

Ask suppliers for evidence against REACH Annex XVII entry 79. Check the affected materials and any exception before EU supply; do not assume UK-held stock qualifies for the existing-stock transition.

Effective dates / current position
Specified consumer-product restrictions apply: — In force
Other covered consumer-textile restrictions apply: — Upcoming—not yet in force
Timing follows the confirmed published schedule; it is not a fresh legal review. These are the two consumer-product phases covered by this article, not every firefighting-foam date in entry 79. Brussels calendar time is a display convention; the regulation does not specify a carrier cutoff. Date-only changes use the calendar day in Europe/Brussels.
Last reviewed
14 Oct 2026 — an editorial source check, separate from automatic timing.
Official source
Open the primary source ↗
Updates to this article

  • First published after checking Regulation 2024/2462, its complete Annex entry 79, commencement and listed German and Portuguese corrigenda. Distinguished the October 2026 consumer-product phase from the October 2027 textile phase, conditional exceptions and prior placing-on-the-market transition; this is not a blanket PFAS ban.

Recorded editorial changes. Automatic timing labels do not change the publication or review dates.
Check affected stock before sending it to the EU. The first consumer-product phase of the PFHxA restriction applies from 10 October 2026. This is a chemical-compliance rule, not a new customs charge or a ban on all PFAS.

Which products should retailers check?

Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 adds entry 79 to Annex XVII of REACH. Its October 2026 phase covers these categories:

Being in one of these categories does not mean a product contains PFHxA or fails the rule. It means that the relevant chemical limits and any applicable exception need checking. A water-resistant finish or a supplier’s broad “PFAS” description is not, by itself, a compliance assessment.

Illustrative retailer product checks: jacket, shoes, cosmetic jar and food carton beside a blank checklist

What are the limits?

For the covered uses, the restriction prohibits placing on the market or use at concentrations equal to or above 25 parts per billion (ppb) for the sum of PFHxA and its salts, or 1,000 ppb for the sum of PFHxA-related substances. The measurement is in the homogeneous material, not an average across the whole finished product.

PFHxA means undecafluorohexanoic acid. Entry 79 defines the related substances it covers. Ask your supplier or a competent testing adviser to assess the relevant materials against that definition and both limits; a generic certificate without a clear product and material scope may not answer the question.

Existing stock and the later phase

Paragraph 7 provides a transition for articles and mixtures placed on the market before 10 October 2026. Keep evidence supporting any reliance on it. Do not assume that goods sitting in a UK warehouse qualify as stock already placed on the EU market.

Other textiles, leather, furs and hides for the general public, outside the clothing and related-accessory category above, have a separate application date of 10 October 2027. This later phase is not a postponement for clothing or footwear already covered in October 2026.

Entry 79 also contains specific exceptions for certain category III protective equipment, medical and in-vitro diagnostic devices, and construction textiles. These are conditional categories, not a general exemption for anything described as protective or professional. Separate firefighting-foam provisions have their own dates and are outside this retailer briefing.

A practical supplier check

  1. Identify the affected products and materials. Start with the categories above and record the precise product, variant and relevant finish or component.
  2. Ask for evidence specific to entry 79. Obtain a supplier compliance statement and the supporting material or test information needed to establish that the applicable limits are met.
  3. Check any claimed exception or old-stock transition. Keep the legal basis and evidence, rather than relying on a description such as “existing stock”.
  4. Resolve gaps before further EU supply. If compliance cannot be established, pause the affected EU dispatches while your supplier or adviser checks the position. Paying import duty does not make a non-compliant product lawful.

Which date means what?

The regulation was published on 20 September 2024 and entered into force on 10 October 2024. The relevant consumer-product restrictions start on the later dates above. This article was first published on 14 October 2026; its publication date is not the legal start date.

Official sources

This is general retailer guidance. Product composition, evidence of placing on the market and eligibility for exceptions need a product-specific assessment.