Women's Bottom Turn Racerback Bikini Top vs Women's Striped One-Piece Swimsuit: which is safer?
Patagonia Women's Bottom Turn Racerback Bikini Top is the clear pick. Tommy Hilfiger Women's Striped One-Piece Swimsuit carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Our pick
Patagonia
Women's Bottom Turn Racerback Bikini Top
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleElastane (spandex) degradation under heat or chlorine
Tommy Hilfiger
Women's Striped One-Piece Swimsuit
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyMicroplastic shedding from polyester-nylon blend
PossibleAzo dye or heavy metal pigments in printed stripes
Reportedwater-repellent coating leaching and persistence in waterways
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Elastane (spandex) degradation under heat or chlorine on the Patagonia and not on the Tommy Hilfiger.
- We flag Microplastic shedding from polyester-nylon blend, Azo dye or heavy metal pigments in printed stripes, DWR coating leaching and persistence in waterways and Formaldehyde resins in fabric finishing (dye fixation) on the Tommy Hilfiger and not on the Patagonia.
- The Patagonia is Nylon/polyester blend with elastane (standard swimwear) where the Tommy Hilfiger is Polyester/nylon blend with likely DWR (durable water-repellent) treatment, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 70 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Patagonia is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Tommy Hilfiger grade, at 42% 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 swimwear: see the full ranking