Everyday and night we are surrounded by fabrics. From clothing to sheets on our beds to upholstery on furniture or car seats, these are the fabrics of our lives.
Fabrics are around us nearly all the time, but did you know that your material choices could either help or harm your health?
Not that long ago, people stuck to the natural fibers: wool, cashmere, cotton, silk, linen, and hemp.
But if you take a look at your clothing labels today, you are likely to find materials like rayon, polyester, acrylic, acetate and nylon. And your shirts and slacks may be treated to be wrinkle-free or stain resistant.
Your Clothing’s Chemical Cocktail
You may be wondering when, and why, chemicals are applied to your clothing. The fact is, man-made fabrics are complex, and getting a soft pullover out of raw materials takes some measure of chemical manipulation. For instance:
- Chemicals are used to make fibres suitable for spinning and weaving.
- A formaldehyde product is often applied to prevent shrinkage. This product is applied with heat so it is trapped in the fibre permanently.
- Petrochemical dyes, which pollute waterways, are used for colour.
- Chemicals are added to make clothing softer, wrinkle-free, fire-retardant, moth-repellant and stain-resistant.
- Commonly used chemicals include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dioxin-producing bleach.
- Nylon and polyester are made from petrochemicals, whose production creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that’s 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
- Rayon is made from wood pulp that has been treated with chemicals, including caustic soda and sulphuric acid.
- Dye fixatives used in fabrics often come from heavy metals and pollute water systems.
- Acrylic fabrics are polycrylonitriles, which may be carcinogenic.
- Clothing and fabric that is treated with flame-retardant chemicals, such as children’s pyjamas, emit formaldehyde gas.
The chemicals used in synthetic clothing have been linked to health problems including cancer, immune system damage, behavioural problems and hormone disruption.
