During episode #2476 of The Joe Rogan Experience, reproductive epidemiologist Dr. Shanna H. Swan spoke at length about the widespread presence of PFAS in everyday products, including clothing and sports uniforms.
The conversation began when host Joe Rogan asked about nonstick cookware. Swan explained that the same class of chemicals used in cookware coatings appears in many other products designed to repel water or stains.
“So those are what’s called the PFAS chemicals,” she said. “And it’s actually not just cookware. It’s anything that puts a barrier between two mediums, if you will. Like a rain jacket will put a barrier between the rain and your skin. And also stain resistant, it’ll [create a] barrier with the stain. And it’s very, very prevalent. I mean, it’s in clothing.”
Rogan responded by noting that he had heard similar concerns about athletic apparel.“I’ve heard it’s in a lot of yoga tights and things along those lines,” he said.
Swan confirmed that workout clothing is indeed a common source of exposure. “Yes, workout clothes,” she said.
Rogan expressed surprise at the idea that clothing marketed as health-oriented could carry potential risks.
“That’s so crazy,” he said. “You think you’re being healthy and you’re exposing yourself to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.”
Swan then referenced documented cases involving occupational uniforms, pointing to a book that explores the issue in detail.
“And uniforms [as well]. There’s a book, I probably shouldn’t recommend another book, but I think it’s a good one,” she said. “It’s called To Dye For, and it’s about flight attendants’ uniforms and the harms that they do because they have a lot of PFAS. They have to keep clean. It’s in sports uniforms. You do a lot with sports, all the sports uniforms.”
When Rogan asked whether nylon clothing specifically posed a risk, Swan clarified that material type alone is not the key factor. Instead, coatings applied to fabrics are usually the concern.
“Probably, but I’m not sure,” she said. “I’m not the clothing expert, but I know that they’re in these things. And one of the things that is kind of scary is school uniforms. You know, a lot of kids have school uniforms, and they’re loaded with it.”
Swan also discussed how PFAS exposure could potentially affect immune function in children, describing a study she hopes to conduct in the future.
“I want to do an intervention where we take kids who are getting PFAS-free school uniforms,” she said. “Remember I told you PFAS was in school uniforms. Then when they come in at age six for their first grade, they will have just had their booster. So we could get their blood and see if the antibody levels were lower in the kids that had the PFAS uniforms versus the clean uniforms.”
Later in the episode, Rogan asked whether there were specific types of garments consumers should be cautious about. Swan said that items treated for durability, water resistance, or stain resistance are among the most likely to contain PFAS.
“Well, the only specific ones I know, because people have told me about them, are the sports uniforms, team uniforms, because they have a coating on them,” she said. “Sports uniforms, kids’ uniforms, airline personnel uniforms, firefighters. Firefighters are a big exposure to these chemicals too, because they wear those waterproof materials. Anything that’s waterproof, stain-proofed, just like your Teflon pants, you know, barrier.”
She closed the discussion with practical advice for consumers looking to reduce exposure.
“Customers could look for, when they buy these things, they could look for PFAS-free,” she said. “Just like now people know to look for BPA-free. If they look for PFAS-free, then they would be avoiding a lot of this.”
