Sustainable Clothing Fabrics for your Health

Would you willingly put formaldehyde (a chemical that causes allergic dermatitis and has been shown to cause long term health problems, such as cancer as noted in this article on your skin everyday? Well, to my surprise, many clothing are made with formaldehyde and washing does not reduce the concentration in the clothing. According to this article, the below fabrics most likely have formaldehyde:

• Rayon
• Blended cotton
• Corduroy
• Wrinkle-resistant 100% cotton
• Shrink-proof wool
• Any synthetic blended polymer (Eg rayon, polyester-cotton) • Heavy stiff fabrics

An added note, rayon is made from wood pulp that has been treated with chemicals, including caustic soda and sulphuric acid.
The below materials are not treated with formaldehyde resins:

• 100% silk
• 100% linen (if it wrinkles easily)
• 100% polyester
• 100% acrylic
• 100% nylon
• Spandex
• Flannel (if soft)
• Denim (jeans)
• Wool

However, I would just choose 100% silk, linen, wool, and 100% cotton though not the wrinkle resistant kind, as this article notes “Nylon and polyester are made from petrochemicals, whose production creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that’s 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide; Acrylic fabrics are polycrylonitriles, which may be carcinogenic.”

Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic; Eddie Bauer; Liz Claiborne; Levi Strauss do not use formaldehyde. Levis has been using organic cotton, and Gap is making efforts to do so as noted in this media release. I am not sure about Eddie Bauer and Liz Claiborne.

Conclusions
So again, I strongly advise everyone to buy organic clothing in natural fibers if you can afford it. This post, as well as the comments from readers to the post, provides many affordable organic clothing options. Organicconsumers.org is also a one of the best resources I have come across for more information on organic clothing.

For those who cannot afford organic, I strongly advise you to purchase items at thrift shops so that you are not contributing to a second round of pollution to the environment in terms of the chemicals to produce clothing, the water pollution and addition to landfill.

When purchasing at thrift shops, only buy 100% silk, 100% wool, 100% linen, and 100% cotton to avoid the dangerous chemicals in synthetics that cause skin allergy as well as serious long term health effects.
My post on Natural Fabrics provides more information on why natural fabrics are better; and my post on Thrift Store shopping gives some tips on the Pros and Precautions of Thrift Shopping.

Silver Lining
I was disturbed that these dangerous chemicals are being used in clothing. However, I am looking at the bright side. I donated 90% all my synthetic clothing over the years due to my skin being allergic to them. Having less options for clothing makes it easier to be minimalist and focus on things that matter. I certainly do not go shopping when I am feeling down as I did before. Now, I just watch a documentary or a good movie, read a book or informative blog. There is less temptation of consumerism because I do not window shop or go into random stores on my walk to the subway or when I am about in Manhattan as I know most of these stores don’t have organic clothing or have mostly synthetic items. When I do need something, I go to the thrift store whenever possible, or otherwise buy organic or 100% natural materials.

There are many negative choices that corporations makes without regard to the health and well being of consumers, but we consumers are not helpless. We should let our purchase speak for our values by buying organic and fair trade items as much as we can, and thrift when we are not able to economically.

Have a happy and healthy day!