Performance fabrics have become standard in athletic wear, promising to wick away sweat and resist stains. But there’s a problem lurking beneath the surface of many of these garments: PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals.” While you’re focused on improving your health through exercise, the very clothing designed to support your fitness goals might be working against you.

The activewear market has long used synthetic materials treated with PFAS to achieve that coveted moisture-wicking effect. These chemicals help fabrics repel water and resist stains, making them attractive to manufacturers and consumers. However, the cost of this convenience isn’t coming from the price tag, it could be costing you your fertility or putting you at risk for cancer. Luckily, brands like TONA exist to address this serious gap and offer PFAS-free leggings that don’t compromise on quality. 

Understanding PFAS: The Chemicals That Won’t Go Away

PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals that have earned this nickname because they don’t break down naturally in the environment or in your body. Manufacturers have used these chemicals in athletic wear since the 1950s, treating fabrics to make them water-resistant, stain-resistant, and capable of wicking moisture away from the skin during physical activity. 

The application process involves coating fabric fibers with PFAS compounds, which create a protective barrier. This barrier keeps liquids from penetrating the fabric, pushing sweat away from your skin rather than allowing it to soak in. For athletic wear companies, this technology solved a significant problem in keeping active people comfortable during workouts. But solving one problem created another that isn’t talked about as frequently.

Research has linked PFAS exposure to a disturbing array of health issues. These chemicals can disrupt menstrual cycles and fertility, trigger early onset of menopause, and may cause complications during pregnancy and fetal development. Studies have also connected PFAS to increased risks of multiple cancers, including ovarian cancer. The chemicals accumulate in your body over time, building up with each exposure. And because PFAS don’t degrade, they persist in your bloodstream and organs for years, even decades.

PFAS chemicals transfer from fabric to skin through direct contact, especially when you’re sweating and your pores are open. During a typical workout, when your body temperature rises and you perspire, your skin becomes particularly receptive to absorbing whatever substances it contacts. Those same properties that make PFAS-treated leggings feel so comfortable during exercise also make them efficient delivery systems for chemicals you definitely don’t want in your body.

What makes this situation particularly troubling is how widespread the problem has become. PFAS appear in athletic wear from brands across every price point, from budget options to premium labels. Most consumers are unaware that they repeatedly expose themselves to these chemicals every time they exercise, which for many people means multiple times per week.

TONA: Redefining Performance Without Compromise

Founder and CEO David Dean and the founding designer of lululemon understood that you shouldn’t have to choose between high-performance athletic wear and your health. After creating the number one and two best-selling leggings in the world and serving as Head of Global Women’s Sportswear at Nike, she knew exactly what made great leggings work. They also knew the industry could do better.

TONA leggings deliver exceptional performance without relying on PFAS chemicals. The company invested heavily in developing custom body-hugging fabric that provides all-day comfort, compression, lift, and support through superior textile engineering rather than chemical treatments. Their fabric costs 60 percent more than standard activewear materials, but this investment yields strong, soft, dense fibers that stay squat-proof without requiring PFAS coatings.

The company’s commitment to safety extends throughout its entire manufacturing process. TONA has its leggings tested by third-party laboratories to verify complete PFAS freedom, providing documentation that its products contain none of these harmful substances. This verification matters because some brands claiming to be PFAS-free still use related compounds that pose similar risks.

TONA’s Stay-up Technology prevents the frustrating sliding and shifting that many leggings experience during workouts, achieving this stability through pattern design and fabric construction rather than chemical treatments. The seams feature 40 percent greater elasticity than standard leggings, allowing you to move with your body through any activity. After innumerable fittings and pattern adjustments, TONA finally achieved the fit that the industry had been missing.

The leggings also address another problem prevalent in the activewear industry: limited size ranges. TONA offers sizes 00 through 24, acknowledging that 68 percent of American women wear size 14 or above. Every size receives the same attention to fit and performance, with the premium high-denier fabric providing appropriate support and coverage across the entire range.

Customer feedback consistently highlights the difference between TONA and other brands. Reviews mention the superior fit, lasting comfort, and noticeable quality of construction. Many customers report switching from other premium brands after trying TONA, noting that they finally found leggings that deliver on performance promises without the nagging concern about chemical exposure. If you want to try the leggings for yourself, you can use TONACLEAN20 to score 20 percent off of a pair of leggings. 

TONA also manufactures its leggings with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) certification, ensuring production under safe, legal, and ethical conditions. This certification covers everything from prohibiting child and forced labor to ensuring proper compensation, limited work hours, health and safety standards, and environmental responsibility.

Not to mention, a portion of revenue from the company goes towards supporting mental health counseling for teens. David Dean tragically lost a family member to suicide, and has since been on a mission to improve teen mental health and provide accessibility to counseling to help teens in need. 

Final Thoughts

Your workout routine should support your health goals, not undermine them. The fitness industry has spent years optimizing nutrition, training protocols, and recovery strategies, yet many people unknowingly sabotage these efforts every time they pull on PFAS-treated leggings. The chemicals absorbed through your skin during each workout accumulate silently, potentially affecting systems throughout your body.

The good news is that choosing PFAS-free athletic wear like TONA doesn’t mean sacrificing performance or settling for inferior products. Quality activewear can achieve moisture management, compression, and durability through superior materials and construction rather than chemical shortcuts. As awareness grows about the risks posed by forever chemicals, the activewear industry faces a choice to continue prioritizing convenience, or invest in developing products that support wellness. The companies that choose the latter approach, building exceptional products without compromising health, deserve support from consumers who understand that wellness encompasses everything we put in and on our bodies.

About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.