Outdoor Voices positioned itself from the beginning as the antidote to aggressive performance culture. Its branding centers on recreational activity, inclusivity, and doing things rather than competing. The brand has also leaned into sustainability messaging, using language around responsibility and environmental consciousness as part of its identity.
For buyers who chose Outdoor Voices partly on the basis of that sustainability positioning, the question of whether its products are non-toxic is worth examining directly.
What Outdoor Voices is made of
Outdoor Voices builds its core product line on synthetic fabrics. Its Techsweat fabric, one of its signature materials, is a recycled polyester blend. Other lines use nylon and elastane combinations. The brand has incorporated recycled content across a significant portion of its catalog, which addresses the supply chain question of virgin petroleum inputs.
Recycled polyester performs identically to virgin polyester during use. It sheds microplastic fibers during washing at comparable rates to virgin polyester, as established by research from Napper and Thompson published in Marine Pollution Bulletin (2016), which found that synthetic garments release thousands of microplastic fibers per wash cycle regardless of whether the base material is virgin or recycled. The recycled origin addresses what goes into making the fabric. It does not change what happens to the fabric when it is worn and washed.
A 2022 study by Leslie et al. in Environment International found microplastic particles in human blood samples. A 2024 study by Marfella et al. in the New England Journal of Medicine found microplastic and nanoplastic particles in cardiovascular tissue. These findings are not specific to Outdoor Voices products. They reflect the current state of research on synthetic fiber exposure from activewear broadly.
Outdoor Voices and sustainability claims
Outdoor Voices has made sustainability a visible part of its brand communication. Its use of recycled materials is genuine and documented. The brand has also made commitments around packaging and supply chain practices.
Where the sustainability narrative requires more scrutiny is at the finished-garment chemical level. Recycled content, packaging improvements, and supply chain commitments are real sustainability actions. They are different from independently verified confirmation that the finished garment a consumer wears has been tested and certified free of regulated harmful substances including PFAS.
PFAS compounds have been used in durable water repellent treatments across the activewear industry. The April 2026 Texas Attorney General investigation into Lululemon confirmed through Lululemon's own response that PFAS were present in DWR treatments through early 2024. That regulatory moment is relevant to any brand that has used DWR chemistry on its products during the same period, which includes most performance activewear brands.
Outdoor Voices does not publish a PFAS-specific policy with independent third-party verification of finished-garment chemical safety as of this writing. Its sustainability communications do not include named certifying bodies or certificate numbers for finished-garment chemical testing.
The gap between sustainability marketing and chemical safety verification
This gap is not unique to Outdoor Voices. It is common across the activewear industry, including brands that have built sustainability identities more deliberately than most. The gap exists because supply chain sustainability commitments and finished-garment chemical safety are addressed through different systems.
Supply chain sustainability covers material sourcing, recycled content, energy use, and packaging. It is typically communicated through brand impact reports and third-party auditors who assess operational practices.
Finished-garment chemical safety is verified through independent laboratory testing of the actual textile for regulated substances. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is the most widely used standard for this. It requires testing of the finished garment for PFAS, heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and other regulated chemicals, with certification issued by an independent body and a certificate number that can be independently verified.
A brand can have strong supply chain sustainability practices and still not have independently verified finished-garment chemical safety. These are different domains with different verification requirements.
What verified looks like
For buyers whose purchasing decision rests on confirmed chemical safety in the fabric against their skin during exercise, the relevant signals are OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification on the finished garment and fiber composition that eliminates the need for chemical finishing to achieve performance.
TENCEL Lyocell achieves moisture management and breathability through its hygroscopic fiber structure. No DWR treatment is required, removing the primary PFAS exposure route. Lenzing AG's closed-loop production process recovers more than 99% of the solvent used per production cycle, according to its published sustainability data, and the finished fiber is produced without petroleum inputs.
Bellissima's Sempre Leggings use 92% TENCEL Lyocell and carry OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification on the finished textile. For buyers making the transition from sustainability-positioned synthetic activewear to independently verified non-toxic activewear, that distinction is the practical difference.
A fair assessment
Outdoor Voices has done real work on supply chain sustainability and recycled material adoption. The brand's commitment to accessible, joyful movement is genuine and has resonated with a large audience for good reason.
On the specific question of independently verified finished-garment chemical safety, the current public documentation does not provide the level of confirmation that would allow a buyer to make a verified non-toxic claim about Outdoor Voices products. That is the factual state of publicly available information, not a characterization of the brand's intentions.
Sources
Texas Attorney General. (2026, April 13). Attorney General Ken Paxton Launches Investigation into Lululemon Over Potential Presence of Toxic "Forever Chemicals" in Activewear. texasattorneygeneral.gov.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2024). Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS. EPA.gov.
Napper, I.E., and Thompson, R.C. (2016). Release of synthetic microplastic plastic fibres from domestic washing machines. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 112(1-2).
Leslie, H.A., et al. (2022). Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood. Environment International, 163.
Marfella, R., et al. (2024). Microplastics and nanoplastics in atheromas and cardiovascular events. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(10).
OEKO-TEX Association. (2024). OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Testing Criteria. oeko-tex.com.
