Hello!!!!
I am SO EXCITED to meet you! Wait, don’t run away! I’m not dangerous! I want to talk to you about something that IS dangerous: toxic PFAS in my humans’ clothes!
My humans take me on lots of adventures! We go on hikes, camping trips, and beach walks together. They don’t like to get wet, so they have jackets and boots to keep them dry that they bought at their local REI store. (One time, they tried to make *me* wear a jacket and boots too. I nearly died!! My feet disappeared, so I panicked and dragged my legs around until my humans panicked too and called the vet. They don’t make me wear them anymore.)
My humans recently found out that lots of the outdoor apparel that keeps them dry contains toxic PFAS. PFAS are a class of human-made chemicals that are incredibly persistent in the environment and also highly toxic. PFAS have been linked to cancers, reproductive harms, immune system suppression, and other health problems. This is a problem because my humans keep bringing new tiny humans into our home, and these tiny humans are apparently very vulnerable to toxic chemicals.
These PFAS take a long long time to break down in the environment, so not only are they sometimes on jackets and boots, but they can also be found in all of the places where me and my humans like to go on adventures! If my humans throw away the jackets, they could end up in a landfill where the PFAS could still leach into the water. I eat a LOT of things that my humans think are gross, but we can all agree that toxic PFAS should not be in our drinking water.
My humans care a lot about the environment, so they are writing to REI to ask them to stop using toxic PFAS in their products! They can’t do this alone. You can help! Join them in taking action. Do it for the tiny humans! Do it to protect the places where we all go on adventures! And definitely do it for me, so the next time I eat a piece of their outdoor gear, they won’t be so upset because they will know I did not eat any toxic PFAS.
