How often do we check the ingredients or labels of our clothing?
We are meticulous about food ingreients but do you look at tag on the back of your collar for the material on the outside of your clothing?
Alden Wicker, began investigating why some flight attendants started having awful skin reactions, like rashes, inflammatory diseases and even breathing, after wearing their airline uniforms. She wrote a book "To Dye For" - spelled D-Y-E - "How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick - And How We Can Fight Back." (1)
What’s Really In Your Closet? (2)
- Petroleum-based fabrics: Polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic, rayon
- NPEs (nonylphenol ethoxylates) bioaccumulative chemicals
- PFCs/Teflon: fabrics like Gore-tex, Scotchgard, or Stainmaster
- Phthalates Endocrine disruptors
- Heavy Metals: clothing dyes made with heavy metals like lead, chromium, and cadmium
Currently:
Approximately 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile manufacturing.
Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally.
The fashion industry alone emits 10% of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping.
43 million tons of chemicals are used in textile production every year (5)
But a 2018 Harvard study found that after the introduction of the uniforms, the number of attendants with multiple chemical sensitivity, sore throats, cough, shortness of breath, itchy skin, rashes and hives, itchy eyes, loss of voice, and blurred vision had all more or less doubled. “This study found a relationship between health complaints and the introduction of new uniforms,” the study’s authors concluded. (3)
How to start Detoxing your environment
1. Focus on plant-sourced fabrics - especially organics
2. Skip anything labeled as wrinkle-resistant, stain-resistant, flame-retardant, cling-free, etc.
3. Look for GOTS-certified, OEKO-TEX and BlueSign fabrics.
4. Start with workout and sleep clothes
5. Wash before the first wear - preferably with non-toxic laundry soap.
6. Research and demand better from brands.
Check over the Toxic Textiles Scorecard (4)
https://www.greenamerica.org/toxic-textiles-scorecard
Learn more about this subject:
1) https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188343293/is-toxic-fashion-making-us-sick-a-look-at-the-chemicals-lurking-in-our-clothes
2) https://www.gomacro.com/toxic-clothing/
3) https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188343293/is-toxic-fashion-making-us-sick-a-look-at-the-chemicals-lurking-in-our-clothes
4) https://www.greenamerica.org/toxic-textiles-scorecard
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