Sweden proposes national PFAS restriction in selected consumer products

The text is not final. Consultation responses are due by 30 November 2026, and the Government will review them before producing the final legislation. The proposal must also be notified under the EU technical regulations procedure and the WTO agreement on technical barriers to trade. 

Why this matters now 

The proposal does not introduce a new technical problem. It moves an existing one forward. Companies that already know where PFAS sit in their supply chain, and that control chemistry at the input stage, face a documentation exercise. Companies relying on finished-product testing and supplier declarations face a substitution program, and on a shorter timeline than the EU restriction would have set. 

Sweden follows France and Denmark, both of which introduced national PFAS restrictions covering clothing and footwear that took effect in 2026. Belgium is discussing a similar proposal covering clothing, footwear, impregnation agents, ski wax, cosmetic products and kitchen utensils. Our overview of PFAS bans affecting the textile industry tracks the wider picture across the U.S. and Europe. 

Who is affected 

This is a restriction on supply to consumers, not a general market ban. The proposal covers making the listed products available on the Swedish market to consumers, meaning natural persons acting mainly outside a business activity. Business-to-business supply is not covered. Making a product available includes any commercial supply for distribution, consumption or use, whether paid for or free. 

Foreign suppliers selling into Sweden are affected on the same terms as domestic companies. 

Products covered 

• Clothing and footwear 

• Impregnation agents for clothing and footwear 

• Cosmetic products 

• Kitchen utensils intended to come into contact with food 

• Ski wax 

For kitchen utensils, the restriction targets non-stick coatings that consumers come into contact with, not PFAS elsewhere in the product such as in electronic parts. Dishwashers are outside the scope. Agricultural pesticides are not covered by the proposal. 

Limit values 

The national restriction has been drafted with the EU-level restriction proposal in mind, and the limit values proposed at EU level would apply. Measured in homogeneous material, the restriction applies where the PFAS concentration is at or above: 

• 25 µg/kg for an individual non-polymeric PFAS 

• 250 µg/kg for the sum of all non-polymeric PFAS, including those formed through the degradation of precursors 

• 50 mg/kg of total fluorine for the sum of all PFAS 

Where total fluorine reaches 50 mg/kg, it is presumed to come from PFAS unless the supplier can demonstrate that it comes from one or more substances that are not PFAS. For kitchen utensils, the limits apply to the parts intended to come into contact with food. 

These are the same limits that apply to PFAS in food packaging under the EU Packaging Regulation, which starts applying on 12 August 2026. France uses the same values in its national ban. Denmark applies the 50 mg/kg total fluorine limit for the sum of all PFAS. For companies already preparing for the EU restriction, the thresholds are not new. What changes is the date they apply from in Sweden. 

Where the national rules stand down 

The national restriction applies only where an equivalent restriction does not already follow from REACH or the POPs Regulation. That holds even where the EU limit is higher, because those areas are already harmonized at EU level. In practice this matters for substances such as PFHxA and related substances, restricted under REACH in textiles, leather, fur and hides in clothing and related accessories for the general public, applying mainly from 10 October 2026. Our explainer on the EU substances of concern framework covers how these layers fit together. 

Exemptions 

• Clothing containing at least 20% recycled material originating from end-user waste 

• Personal protective equipment intended to protect against the risks covered by Annex I of the EU regulation on personal protective equipment 

• Impregnation agents used to re-impregnate that protective equipment 

• Products that have been in use and are suitable for continued use, as is or after repair 

The 20% figure follows the French rule. Note the wording on recycled content: it must come from end-user waste, so material recovered earlier in the chain, for example during manufacturing, does not count toward the threshold. No exemption is proposed for kitchen utensils. 

What this means for companies 

• Supplier declarations alone will carry less weight. Traceability, and in some cases analytical testing, will be needed. There is currently no standardized analytical method for the total PFAS limit, which is why the fluorine presumption exists and why supply chain composition data matters. 

• Purchasing specifications and restricted substances documentation will need updating. 

• Substitution work will compete for the same technical resources across several markets at once, since the French, Danish, Swedish and EU timelines overlap. 

• Companies that have already substituted are expected to hold an advantage in the Swedish market during the period the national rules apply. 

The same evidence problem is showing up in consumer-facing rules. Under the Empowering Consumers Directive, claims about substances that are not present in a product must be substantiated rather than asserted. As we set out in Chemical Regulation Is Accelerating, the harder problem for most companies is no longer knowing what is coming, but being able to demonstrate what is already in their products. 

What happens next 

• 30 November 2026: consultation responses due to the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. Authorities, organizations, municipalities, companies and members of the public may all comment, so affected businesses can respond directly. 

• After the consultation: the Government reviews responses and produces the final legislation, following EU and WTO notification. 

• 1 January 2028: proposed entry into force. Enforcement would sit with the Swedish Chemicals Agency and municipalities, with breaches falling under the existing penalty provisions of the Environmental Code. 

• The national rules would be repealed once an EU-wide PFAS restriction applies. 

How bluesign supports this work 

The bluesign System manages chemistry at the input stage rather than relying only on end-product testing, through the bluesign Criteria. PFAS have been progressively restricted across the System since 2015, ahead of most regulatory timelines: 

• 2015: long-chain PFAS (C8 chemistry) restricted in all bluesign-assessed products 

• 2022: new PFAS-containing chemicals no longer accepted for registration in the bluesign Finder 

• 2023: existing PFAS chemicals removed from the bluesign Finder and excluded from assessment 

• January 2025: full PFAS restriction in bluesign® APPROVED materials, with limited essential-use exemptions 

• January 2026: PFAS restricted in any bluesign® APPROVED material or bluesign® PRODUCT (now bluepass), and removed from both the bluesign Finder and the bluesign Guide 

Two lists define the requirements. The bluesign System Black Limits (BSBL) restrict substances in the chemical products used in manufacturing. The bluesign System Substances List (BSSL) sets consumer safety limits for substances in articles. Both are reviewed at least once a year and can be found on our downloads page. Since the 2026 revision of the BSSL and BSBL, the bluesign PFAS limits match the values used in the French restriction, which are the same values proposed for the Swedish ban and in the EU restriction proposal. 

For brands and manufacturers, this means restricted substances are addressed before they enter the process rather than detected afterward. That reduces the scope of the substitution and documentation work a company faces when a new restriction arrives. It does not replace a company’s own legal compliance obligation. 

Using bluepass certified chemical products and bluepass certified articles (fabrics, insulation, trims, accessories) means those requirements are applied upstream, at the point where the chemistry is selected. See how this works for brands and retailers and for manufacturers and converters. 

Preparing for what comes next 

The Swedish proposal is one of several national measures moving ahead of the EU restriction, and it will not be the last. Companies that can already show where their chemistry comes from will spend less time reacting to each one. If you want to talk through what this means for your supply chain, get in touch. 

Sources 

• Swedish Government memorandum, national ban on PFAS in certain consumer products, KN2026/01597: regeringen.se 

• Consultation page, responses due 30 November 2026: regeringen.se consultation