PFAS in Hotel Textiles and Upholstery: What the EU PFHxA Restriction Covers

Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 restricts PFHxA, its salts and related substances, a group of PFAS used in stain and water repellents. For textiles other than clothing sold to the general public, including curtains, upholstery and bed linen, the restriction applies from 10 October 2027. The limits are 25 ppb for PFHxA and its salts, and 1,000 ppb for related substances.

Many articles online give 10 October 2026 as the date for hotel textiles. That date applies to clothing, footwear, cosmetics, food-contact paper and consumer mixtures. Textiles that furnish a room fall in the second wave, a year later. The difference matters for any order that lands in the next twelve months.

The regulation adds entry 79 to Annex XVII of REACH. It covers PFHxA, its salts and substances that can degrade to PFHxA, measured in homogeneous material. It is not a ban on all PFAS. A wider proposal on PFAS in other uses is still pending, as the regulation's own recitals note.

• From 10 October 2026: textiles, leather, furs and hides in clothing and related accessories for the general public; footwear; food-contact paper and cardboard; mixtures for the general public; cosmetics.
• From 10 October 2027: textiles, leather, furs and hides other than in clothing, for the general public.
• Limits: 25 ppb for the sum of PFHxA and its salts, and 1,000 ppb for the sum of PFHxA-related substances.

The operative text says "for the general public". The recitals go further: they name carpets, rugs, curtains, blinds, upholstery, textile wall covers and other textile coverings such as tablecloths or bed linen, and state that this includes products used in public places, and in offices because those can be assumed to be visited by the general public. A hotel lobby, restaurant and guest room are public-facing spaces. Recitals are explanatory rather than operative, so treat this as the Commission's stated intent, not a final ruling on your specific product.

Whether uniforms and other staff workwear count as clothing "for the general public" is less clear. If that matters to you, take advice rather than assuming.

• Personal protective equipment within certain risk category III points of Regulation (EU) 2016/425
• Devices within the scope of the medical device and in vitro diagnostic regulations
• Construction textiles
• Articles placed on the market before the relevant date, which can still be sold: before 10 October 2026 for the first wave and before 10 October 2027 for textiles such as curtains and upholstery

That last point creates a practical cliff. Goods first placed on the EU market after 10 October 2027 must comply, and a made-to-order upholstery or curtain order takes 10 to 22 weeks to land. Orders placed from about mid-2027 will therefore arrive after the date.

1. 01Does any fabric, finish or coating on this product contain PFHxA, its salts or related substances?
2. 02Is the stain or water repellent PFAS-free, and what is the treatment called?
3. 03Can you supply an accredited laboratory test result against the 25 ppb and 1,000 ppb limits?
4. 04If the fabric changes, will you retest and tell us?

Repellent finishes based on short-chain fluorochemicals are the usual source of these substances. PFAS-free alternatives exist, including inherently stain-resistant fibres and non-fluorinated finishes, but the recitals accept that oil and stain repellence may perform differently. Test a sample against your real cleaning regime rather than trusting a brochure. This sits alongside the wider checks in our supplier vetting checklist, and any "PFAS-free" claim you make to guests is also a green claim under the EU rules that started applying on 27 September 2026.

For orders being specified now, talk to us about what documentation is available before you approve a fabric.

Textile end-of-life rules are covered separately in EU textile EPR for hotel linen and curtains.