The importance of avoiding TOXIC
chemicals in the clothes we buy
Lara Shannon – Founder, Ecochick.com
M
ost of us know the common health hazards to avoid
such as ‘smoking causes cancer’, ‘slouching leads to
bad posture’ and ‘not brushing your teeth leads to
cavities’, though few people know about the health hazards of
wearing certain fabrics or dyed clothing.
Many of the clothes sold in popular retail stores are made
with synthetic fabrics and dyes. Most synthetic fabrics, from
towels to dress shirts and bed linens, are treated with chemicals
during and after processing.
A brand new 100 % cotton bed sheet or pillowcase as one
example may contain only 73% of cotton, the rest being chemicals added to the fabric during growing or treatment, including
formaldehyde.
These chemicals not only leach into the environment, impacting groundwater, wildlife, air and soil, but they also may be
absorbed into the skin or inhaled directly causing a wide range
of health issues, from skin sensitivities and rashes to potentially
even greater risks.
The concern of dangerous chemicals in our clothing has been
growing in Australia. Recently, the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) sampled about 300 articles of
clothing, including jeans and bedding such as sheets and pillowcases, finding about 3 per cent contained the carcinogenic
(cancer causing) chemical known as azo dye.
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About 20 of the 300 known azo dyes are listed as carcinogens
as they break down into a deadly substance known as aromatic
armines or ‘deadly particles’.
Almost 208,000 items were voluntarily recalled involving
about 37 product lines from retailers including: Myer, Target,
Target Country, Cotton On, Rivers Australia, Jeans West, Trade
Secret and Pillow Talk. Pacific Brands recalled a line of boys’
Mossimo jackets, making it the first company to voluntarily recall clothing after conducting its own tests.
Alarmingly, the ACCC has said that not even washing the
items containing the azo dyes will reduce the concentration of
these hazardous chemicals. Europe has banned the use of azo
dye and the US has restricted use of this chemical. Although it is
still currently legal in Australia, the ACCC is expe