Boys' School Uniform Short Sleeve Polo Shirt vs Boys Short Sleeve Performance Polo: which is safer?
Izod Boys' School Uniform Short Sleeve Polo Shirt is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
Our pick
Izod
Boys' School Uniform Short Sleeve Polo Shirt
PFAS grade
Good 65/100
Overall grade
Poor 49/100
Verdict
Skip
Hazard flags
⚑ 4
Material
cotton/polyester blend, no stated coating
Confidence
72%
PossibleAzo dyes and color fastness
PossibleFormaldehyde in fabric finishes
PossibleAntimony in polyester
Nautica
Boys Short Sleeve Performance Polo
PFAS grade
Bad 20/100
Overall grade
Bad 16/100
Verdict
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Hazard flags
⚑ 1
Material
polyester blend with water-repellent coating finish
Confidence
45%
Possiblewater-repellent coating finish chemistry (non-PFAS alternatives unclear)
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Azo dyes and color fastness, Formaldehyde in fabric finishes, Antimony in polyester and Microplastic shedding on the Izod and not on the Nautica.
- We flag DWR finish chemistry (non-PFAS alternatives unclear) on the Nautica and not on the Izod.
- The Izod is cotton/polyester blend, no stated coating where the Nautica is polyester blend with 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 Izod is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Nautica grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: 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 school uniforms: see the full ranking