Men's Italian-Stretch Chino Pant vs RLX Ralph Lauren Men's Stretch-Nylon Pants: which is safer?

Banana Republic Men's Italian-Stretch Chino Pant is our pick, better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Our pick

Banana Republic Men's Italian-Stretch Chino Pant

Banana Republic

Men's Italian-Stretch Chino Pant

PFAS grade

Good 65/100

Overall grade

Good 51/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

cotton-elastane blend, no known water-repellent coating finish

Confidence

72%

PossibleAzo dye contamination and allergic sensitization

ReportedMicroplastic shedding from elastane

RLX Ralph Lauren Men's Stretch-Nylon Pants

Polo Ralph Lauren

RLX Ralph Lauren Men's Stretch-Nylon Pants

PFAS grade

Bad 20/100

Overall grade

Bad 2/100

Verdict

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Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

Nylon with stretch treatment, likely water-repellent coating finish

Confidence

45%

Possiblewater-repellent coating (water-repellent coating) fluorinated compounds

PossibleFormaldehyde or formaldehyde releasers in finishing resins

ReportedMicroplastic shedding

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Azo dye contamination and allergic sensitization and Microplastic shedding from elastane on the Banana Republic and not on the Polo Ralph Lauren.
  • We flag Durable water repellent (DWR) fluorinated compounds, Formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasers in finishing resins and Microplastic shedding on the Polo Ralph Lauren and not on the Banana Republic.
  • The Banana Republic is cotton-elastane blend, no known durable water repellent finish where the Polo Ralph Lauren is Nylon with stretch treatment, likely DWR finish, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Banana Republic is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Polo Ralph Lauren grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More wrinkle-free professional workwear, see the full ranking