Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a probe into Hanes and Fruit of the Loom for allegedly putting forever chemicals in kids' underwear, saying too many corporations cut corners.
Paxton’s office targeted the children’s underwear lines from both apparel giants on Tuesday, focusing on manufacturing practices that may introduce harmful forever chemicals into products parents buy every day.
The U.S. Sun reported the attorney general is examining whether the companies added these persistent chemicals to some undergarments. No finding yet shows the products are unsafe.
Paxton, a father of four, framed the inquiry as basic protection for the most vulnerable. He said his goal is to make sure the everyday items families need stay free of toxins that could hurt kids’ health.
Forever chemicals, substances that do not break down easily in the environment or the body, have drawn growing scrutiny in consumer goods. In textiles, they often appear on synthetic fabrics such as polyester, rayon, and spandex. Those materials can shed microplastics, and coatings on them may pass into the body through skin contact.
The Texas attorney general did not mince words about the broader pattern he sees in corporate America.
Paxton stated he aims to “protect our children who cannot yet protect themselves.”
"Too many corners have been cut by corporations in this country, and I will continue to hold them accountable,"
he said, tying the underwear review to a larger push for clean necessities.
That stance fits the record of an attorney general who has made holding powerful institutions to account a signature theme, including during a high-stakes Texas Senate fight.
Parents expect underwear, of all things, to be simple and safe. When state investigators start asking whether major brands treated that expectation as optional, the questions write themselves.
Hanes answered quickly. A company spokesperson told reporters the firm knows about the Texas inquiry and will supply whatever information the attorney general requests.
The spokesperson laid out the company’s position in detail:
"We are aware of the inquiry from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and will cooperate with the AG’s investigation by providing the requested information. The safety and quality of our products are a top priority. We maintain strict manufacturing and sourcing standards and require compliance with industry-recognized Restricted Substance List (RSL) requirements, which include, but are not limited to, requirements of California’s Proposition 65. Our vertically integrated business model gives us significant oversight throughout the manufacturing process, helping us uphold rigorous quality, safety, and sourcing standards across our supply chain. We remain committed to providing safe, high-quality products for consumers."
Fruit of the Loom, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, had not issued an immediate public reply when the probe became public.
Paxton’s willingness to open the books on household names also tracks with the aggressive posture allies have backed in his statewide campaigns, from major outside spending on his behalf to pressure for party unity.
The investigation does not claim Hanes or Fruit of the Loom children’s underwear has been proven dangerous. It asks whether forever chemicals belong in products that sit against kids’ skin all day.
Classes of these chemicals, including certain PFAS compounds, bisphenols, phthalates, and parabens, have been linked in broader research to hormone disruption, fertility problems, and elevated cancer risks. Those associations are general, not specific test results on these brands’ garments.
Still, the mechanism Paxton’s office is examining is straightforward: synthetic fabrics common in modern underwear can carry chemical coatings. If those coatings include persistent compounds, repeated skin contact becomes the exposure route.
That is precisely the kind of quiet risk parents cannot spot on a store shelf. An attorney general who treats it as worth a formal look is doing the job voters hired him to do, the same accountability focus that has drawn calls for GOP unity behind his Senate bid.
Hanes insists its restricted-substance rules and supply-chain control already meet or exceed key state standards. The Texas probe will test whether those internal safeguards match the public promise.
Berkshire Hathaway’s silence so far leaves Fruit of the Loom without a parallel public defense. Both companies now face the same basic demand: show the manufacturing records and the chemical lists.
Underwear is not a luxury good or a niche gadget. It is one of the first purchases new parents make and a weekly staple for every family. When the state’s top lawyer says those staples must be free of toxic chemicals, he is drawing a bright line most Texans already assume exists.
Paxton has cast the review as unfinished business against corporate corner-cutting. The companies under the microscope say they already run tight ships. Documents and testing data will decide which claim holds up.
Voters watching the attorney general’s race for higher office have seen the same insistence on results, whether in consumer protection or in the eight-figure ad campaigns now surrounding his Senate run.
For now the facts are limited to the launch of the inquiry, the companies named, the absence of any safety determination, and the competing statements on the record. More will emerge once the requested manufacturing information lands on the attorney general’s desk.
Parents should not need a chemistry degree to trust the clothes they put on their children. When an elected official forces the brands to prove that trust is earned, the rest of the country should pay attention.
