Formaldehyde in Wrinkle-Free Shirts
I talked about testing non-iron shirts in a previous post. I have to wash them first or I have a reaction. After doing some more research on these shirts I have become more and more concerned. Apparently one washing only gets rid of 60% of the formaldehyde. You can never get rid of all of it.
I contacted one of the companies from which I purchased shirts. They wouldn't tell me what chemicals were in them. It's a "proprietary formula". I specifically asked if they used formaldehyde and they wouldn't say. So I guess that pretty much answers my question. Yes, there is formaldehyde in these shirts. And even though I'm not allergic to them if they're washed, I don't want that in my face all day.
On the bright side they said I could return anything I wasn't happy with. Nice surprise! So I'm going to take them up on the offer.
Formaldehyde is in more than just non-iron shirts. Check out this site and you'll be amazed at how often we're exposed. (Kleenex!)
Of course, even cotton isn't safe. Everything is full of chemicals now. You could just wear organic cotton clothing but I don't think I'm ready to go there. Pretty limited wardrobe. The best thing would be to just wash everything before you wear it and stay away from anything labeled non-iron, wrinkle-free, easy care, permanent press, etc. We have regular cotton sheets but I think that might be a good place to go organic.
There is a new story here about how babies are exposed in the womb to chemicals. They have tested the umbilical cords and found high levels of toxins present. Really makes you think about what we are all exposed to through the years and the possible contribution to diseases.
Posted by elizabeth | Filed under:
When washing clothes, especially clothes that have flame retardants, use SOAP, not just detergent to pull out the chemicals - and wash them several times. After a new item is washed, I'll leave it out to dry and add it back in again several times when I do that type of load.
I did the same thing ask one of the leading men's store company and they called me back and told me that their manufacturer refuse to tell them if their travelers shirts contain formaldehyde. They said that I can return the shirts if I want to.
I believe that as a consumer people have the right to know what they're wearing, if it's toxic free or not. Our lawmakers need to tackle this problem, manufacturers need to stop making products that are toxic.
there is now more choice than ever before for organic cotton clothing - we are just one of a new batch of companies who are producing 100% organic cotton clothing - www.glo4life.com - currently we only do T-shirts, but are looking to expand, and for us to do this we need the support of the likes of you!
for a more extensive list of suppliers, check out www.treehugger.com, and the clothing section - like I say, we are out there...trying our best to rid the world of chemicals!
it's a long road, but at least we've started the journey...