Japan's outdoor apparel industry is facing growing pressure to eliminate PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" long used to make performance clothing waterproof and weather-resistant. With at least 4,700 types of PFAS now under scrutiny for their links to cancer and their persistence in the environment, brands and suppliers across the country are being forced to act.
Japan's globally renowned outdoor industry has been generally slow to respond, partly due to the difficulty of finding viable substitutes and the relatively late arrival of domestic regulation. But international pressure is mounting, and companies that fail to adapt risk being shut out of key markets in Europe and North America.
London-based Amphico is among the companies working to close that gap. Amphico has developed a fully recyclable, PFAS-free textile inspired by the water-repelling structure of the lotus leaf, with plans to begin mass production in Europe and Japan this year.
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