The group claims the sportswear contains dangerous chemicals

The Center for Environmental Health said it has sent letters to eight clothing brands after testing clothes for the chemical bisphenol.

The group said the products violate the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Discharge Act. The Center for Environmental Health said it would give the companies 60 days to respond to their letter before filing a complaint with the state.

According to the group, unsafe levels of the chemical bisphenol, or BPA, have been found in sports bras from Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike and FILA. The group also said it found dangerous levels of BPA in activewear shirts made by The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance and Reebok.

CEH said some of the clothing contained 22 times the safe limit of BPA.

“People are exposed to BPA through ingestion (such as by consuming food or drinking water from containers containing leached BPA) or through skin absorption,” said Kaya Allan Sugerman, director of the toxics program at CEH. . “Studies have shown that BPA can be absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream after handling receipt paper for seconds or minutes at a time. Sports bras and sports shirts are worn for hours on end and you have to sweat in them, so finding such high levels of BPA in our clothing is concerning.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “The effects of BPA on human health at low environmental exposures are unknown. BPA has been shown to affect the reproductive systems of laboratory animals. More research is needed to understand the effects of BPA exposure on human health. »

Besides clothing, BPA is commonly found on plastic food containers, aluminum cans, and toys.