Texas Is Investigating Hanes and Fruit of the Loom Underwear

TEXAS -- Of all the things I expected to see Texas investigating this week, underwear was not particularly high on the list.

But here we are.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation into Hanes and Fruit of the Loom over concerns about the potential presence of harmful chemicals in materials used to make children's underwear.

And before anybody starts emptying dresser drawers, there's an important distinction: Texas has not announced that it found harmful chemicals in either company's products. The investigation is looking into whether potentially harmful substances could be present in the materials or used during manufacturing.

So What Is Texas Investigating?

This part gets a little confusing, so here's the normal-person version, at least relatively speaking.

The Attorney General's Office has issued Civil Investigative Demands seeking information from Hanes and Fruit of the Loom about materials used in kids' underwear.

The investigation focuses particularly on synthetic materials, including polyester, rayon and spandex.

Paxton's office says it's looking into whether potentially harmful substances could be present in or used during the manufacturing of these products, citing chemicals including PFAS, phthalates, bisphenols and parabens.

Again, though, the state has not released test results showing that any particular Hanes or Fruit of the Loom product contains unsafe levels of those chemicals.

What Are the Companies Saying?

Gildan, the company that owns Hanes, told Reuters that it intends to cooperate with the investigation and said it has manufacturing and sourcing standards designed to address harmful chemicals.

Reuters reported that Fruit of the Loom, Berkshire Hathaway and Gildan had not immediately responded to requests for comment.

For now, this is exactly what Texas says it is: an investigation.

Should You Be Worried About Your Kids' Underwear?

There's no announced finding that parents need to act on, at least for right now.

The investigation is still in its information-gathering stage, and the state has not said that Hanes or Fruit of the Loom children's underwear has been found to contain unsafe levels of any of the chemicals being discussed.

So there's no need to conduct an emergency underwear purge at your house.

For now, we'll have to wait and see what, if anything, the investigation actually finds.

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