GRAND HAVEN, United States – September 11, 2026 –With the wet season starting across the northern states, JobSite, the footwear accessory brand of Manakey Group, LLC, is urging people who waterproof their own work boots to read the label on the can before they spray it. Minnesota now prohibits intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the manufactured chemicals commonly called forever chemicals, in a list of everyday products that includes fabric treatments, and aftermarket boot sprays are a fabric treatment in the ordinary sense of the word.
“Most people treat their boots once a year and never think about what is in the can,” said Brad Kamminga, Product Developer at JobSite. “The chemistry that made these sprays work is the chemistry Minnesota has now written rules about. We reformulated ours away from it, and what nobody tells you is that a water based product wants to be applied differently. Thin coats, and give it the full four hours.”
What Minnesota’s Rules Cover Under Amara’s Law, Minn. Stat. § 116.943, Minnesota’s first prohibitions on products containing intentionally added PFAS took effect on January 1, 2025 across 11 product categories, among them cleaning products, cookware, textile furnishings, ski wax and fabric treatments. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency defines fabric treatments as the substances that are applied to fabrics rather than fabrics that have already been treated. Pre-treated fabrics fall under a broader prohibition scheduled for 2032 unless a use is determined by rule to be currently unavoidable.
The agency’s published categories do not single out footwear, and JobSite is not claiming that they do. The company’s point is narrower and, it argues, more useful to a boot owner. A can of water repellent bought to be sprayed onto a boot is a substance applied to a fabric, which is the plain reading of the category the state has already put in force. JobSite encourages boot owners to check the rules where they live rather than assume Minnesota’s apply, or that they do not.
The chemistry itself is long established. The Environmental Protection Agency describes PFAS as manufactured chemicals used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s, notes that many of them break down very slowly, and states that they can build up in people, animals and the environment over time. Water and stain repellency is one of the properties that made them widespread, which is why footwear treatments were among the product families built on them.
What Changes for Someone Treating Their Own Boots For manufacturers the consequence is reformulation rather than relabeling, because the repellency has to come from somewhere else. JobSite’s PFAS-free water repellent is a water based, non-aerosol formula made without PFAS, and its product page lists it for most materials including leather, canvas, nylon, nubuck, cotton, mesh and knits, and for hats, jackets, bags and tents as well as footwear.
For the person holding the can, the practical change is technique. A water based repellent is applied differently from the aerosols it replaces, and JobSite’s own directions call for spraying 6 to 8 inches from the surface, applying an even coat without oversaturating, allowing 4 hours of drying time, and building up two or three coats rather than one heavy pass.
The timing point stands on its own. Treatments go on before a wet season rather than during it, which puts September and early October in front of the week when most northern boot owners discover their footwear has stopped shedding water.
About JobSite
JobSite is a footwear accessory brand of Manakey Group, LLC, based in Grand Haven, Michigan. For over 20 years the company has supplied boot dryers, boot scrubbers and scrapers, insoles, laces and leather care products, selling directly to customers online and offering wholesale and bulk ordering to trade buyers. JobSite ships within the United States. More information is available at jobsite.manakey.com.
Media Contact Brad Kamminga, Product Developer JobSite, Manakey Group, LLC Grand Haven, Michigan [email protected] Phone 616-293-5560 jobsite.manakey.com
Media ContactCompany Name: JobSiteContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailPhone: 616-293-5560City: Grand HavenCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://jobsite.manakey.com/
