VICTORY! Columbia Privately Commits to Phasing out Toxic PFAS Chemicals!

This is a great first step but until the company makes public reports of its progress, we'll never be able to truly hold them accountable.

Sign our petition urging Columbia to be transparent with its plan to phase out dangerous PFAS!

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Dear ,

We did it! This Summer, in a massive public pressure campaign, tens of thousands of NRDC activists like you called on Columbia Sportswear to commit to ending the use of toxic PFAS chemicals in its products — and it worked!

During its Annual Shareholder Meeting, Columbia's CEO confirmed that the company is working to eliminate the chemical. And just last month, NRDC received a letter from Columbia's sustainability director committing to a goal of phasing out PFAS by the end of 2024!

While this is excellent news and a testament to the power of our collective voice, Columbia has denied our request to make its commitments immediately known to the public. If Columbia won't make it's commitment transparent to its consumers, then the company needs to provide the public with regular, quarterly updates on progress towards its goal.

Here's where you come in: We're calling on Columbia to commit to regular, public, quarterly reports on the company's progress towards phasing out PFAS in its clothing products by 2024. Sign our petition to CEO Timothy Boyle and help hold the company to its word.

We know that PFAS chemicals are bad news: A family of approximately 12,000 synthetic chemicals, PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — can cause serious illnesses including liver damage, impact to child development, and cancer, pollute the drinking water supplies for an estimated more than 200 million people in the U.S., and they don't break down in the environment — hence the name "forever" chemicals.

These dangerous synthetic chemicals are widely used in the apparel industry. But while NRDC's report and scorecard showed that many leading apparel brands are reducing the use of PFAS, Columbia Sportswear earned an F for its continued use of the toxic chemical in their clothing products.

Thankfully, consumers like you flexed your powerful voices and Columbia could ignore our pleas no longer. Now we need your voice to hold Columbia publicly accountable. We can't allow them to renege on their whispered promises.

Sign our petition today. We're demanding Columbia Sportswear regularly update the public on its progress toward ending its use of PFAS chemicals by 2024. Our planet and our health can't wait.

Thank you for being with us in this fight. Together, we can hold these companies accountable, end the scourge of PFAS on our health, and give our planet a fighting chance.

Sincerely,

Sujatha Bergen
Senior Advocate, People and Communities, NRDC

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