Study shows BPA toxins in sports bras, sports shirts

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Wednesday, the Centers for Environmental Health sent legal notices to 11 sports bra and sports T-shirt brands after a study found that the clothing may contain high levels of bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA is a chemical used to make plastics and can be used in the production of polyester.

Currently, the FDA has received petitions regarding BPA in clothing products from environmental groups. Groups have expressed concern about BPA in polyester-based clothing containing spandex.

“Sports bras and sports t-shirts can be worn for hours on end, so it is disturbing to find such high levels of BPA in our clothing,” CEH said in a press release.

Although BPA is found in many everyday products, it has been linked to numerous health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity.

The legal notices cited test results that could indicate wearers could be exposed to up to 22 times the safe BPA, according to California law standards. The notice requires brands to reformulate their products to remove all bisphenols, including BPA, and gives companies 60 days to work with CEH.

Several states have bans or regulations on the use of BPA in products, Texas is not one of those states. according to compliancegate.com.

Sports bra brands include:

• Everything in Motion (Target)
• Athlete
• Asics
• Brooks
• PHILLA
• Nike
• PINK (Victoria’s Secret)
• The north side

Activewear shirt brands include:

• Athlete
• Brooks
• Mizuno
• New balance
• Reebok
• The north side

Nexstar has reached out to the brands involved in the legal notices and has so far received comments from one.

“The safety of our customers is our highest priority. We have strict testing requirements and high standards for all materials in our products. BPA is a prohibited substance on the Brooks Restricted Substance List (RSL),” said a Brooks representative. “We have no reason to believe that any of our products do not meet any health/safety standards, but out of an abundance of caution we are working urgently to investigate these claims.”

You can visit them Corporate Responsibility Transparency Page which provides additional information about Brooks’ environmental standards and responsible chemicals program.

CEH has not received a response from the listed companies.