PFAS65/ 100Good
Overall53/ 100Good
Cotton On Men's Everyday Fit T-Shirt

Cotton On · Activewear

Cotton On Men's Everyday Fit T-Shirt

Good

Skip for PFAS certainty; buy if baseline risk acceptable.

Verdict · Skip100% cotton garment with no reported dye or finish hazards, but PFAS grade is moderate and brand transparency is absent; acceptable for baseline risk tolerance.

Basic cotton t-shirt with no known water or stain treatments. Cotton itself presents lower concern, but Cotton On does not disclose PFAS avoidance or hold relevant certifications.

Still want this one anyway? Check the price on Amazon. We’d swap it.

Material

cotton

Brand disclosure

Brand is silent on PFAS

Lab data

No public lab test

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What Cotton On Men's Everyday Fit T-Shirt is made of, ingredients and materials

This t-shirt is 100% cotton, a natural fiber that does not inherently leach synthetic chemicals during wear or laundering. Cotton garments typically receive finishing treatments (softeners, wrinkle resistance, or dyes) after spinning and weaving. The primary concern for cotton apparel is the chemistry of those finishes and colorants, not the fiber itself. Cotton On does not disclose which dyes, mordants, or post-manufacture coatings are applied to this specific garment.

What’s concerning

♾️

Category baseline

The starting point for this type of product, before anything specific to this product is counted.

70/ 100
♾️

No PFAS disclosure

No public statement from the brand about PFAS in this product.

85/ 100
🎨

Heavy metals

Cotton garments are commonly dyed with synthetic dyes; some azo dyes break down into carcinogenic amines, and pigments may contain lead, cadmium, or chromium. Cotton On does not publish dye chemistry or testing for this product, so hazard level cannot be ruled out or confirmed.

Source, FDA ↗
70/ 100
💨

Formaldehyde / VOCs

Wrinkle-resistance and softening finishes on casual cotton may use formaldehyde-based resins. No data sheet or restricted substance declaration is available for this garment; residual formaldehyde is possible but typically decreases after washing.

Source, ATSDR ↗
70/ 100
🏭

Allergenic or irritant residues from manufacturing

Any garment may retain dust, lint, or trace chemicals from factory finishing; a pre-wear wash mitigates this risk substantially.

70/ 100

What’s reassuring

✅

Base material not linked to PFAS

The main material recorded for this product is not one associated with PFAS.

100/ 100
✅

Antimony in polyester (if present)

This product is stated as 100% cotton with no polyester blend reported, so antimony contamination is not a concern for this specific item.

95/ 100
🔥

Flame retardants

Cotton t-shirts sold for everyday wear (non-sleepwear, non-industrial) are not legally required to carry flame retardant coatings in most jurisdictions, and none is disclosed for this product.

Source, EPA ↗
95/ 100

The full breakdown

The brand's record and disclosure

Cotton On is a major fast-fashion retailer with no published sustainability report, chemical transparency statement, or restricted substance list on record. The brand has not publicly committed to eliminating hazardous dyes, formaldehyde-releasing resins, or heavy metals in pigments. No recalls or formal complaints specific to this product line have been documented in public safety databases. Absence of disclosure does not indicate non-compliance, but it does mean you cannot verify the finish chemistry.

How it compares in its category

Cotton t-shirts from brands with third-party certifications (GOTS, OEKO-TEX) typically carry testing documentation for azo dyes, formaldehyde releasers, and heavy metals. Cotton On's everyday fit does not advertise such certification. Price point and design suggest conventional commercial dyeing and finishing without premium process control. Many mass-market cotton basics carry similar transparency gaps; this product is not an outlier.

If you buy it

Wash once in warm water before first wear to reduce loose dye and any residual chemical finishes. Use standard detergent; no special care is required for a basic t-shirt. Inspect the garment for color bleeding or unusual odor on first wash; significant chemical smell or dye transfer may indicate incomplete rinsing at manufacture. Replace when fabric degrades (pilling, thinning, color fading) rather than for chemical reasons alone.

What we don’t know

Basis
Model estimate, 78% confidence, not a lab result
Lab test
None on record for this exact product
Brand statement
Cotton On has made none

Formulations change between production runs, so check the current label. How we grade.

More activewear grades

How we score, every product runs through the same public 0-100 rubric based on materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls. See the full methodology → Spotted a mistake? Report an error.