Toxic Clothing Affects Everyone

Editor's note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published on June 27, 2017.

In September 2016, American Airlines rolled out redesigned uniforms for its more than 70,000 employees—the first major overhaul in 30 years. Soon after, about 100 pilots and 3,000 flight attendants began reporting that the uniforms made them feel sick. The symptoms included rashes, itching, puffy eyes, and general discomfort (some of which only occurred when employees were wearing the uniforms).^One

Twin Hill, a division of Tailored Brands Inc., which supplied the uniforms, said testing did not reveal any suspicious substances that could be causing the symptoms, and American Airlines did not recall the uniforms but provided replacement uniforms to some employees and allowed them to wear their old uniforms until the issue was resolved.² This may seem like an unusual story, but it's not entirely uncommon for people to get sick because of their clothes.

In fact, not only are regular clothes made from potentially allergenic materials (like latex, lycra, and spandex), they may also be contaminated with a variety of chemicals used in the manufacturing process.

The clothing industry is actually one of the most polluting industries on the planet, and the fabrics they produce can be laced with irritants and disease-causing chemicals. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to wash new clothes before wearing them. However, doing so does not make them completely safe.

What kind of chemicals are in your clothes?

Depending on where your new clothing was manufactured, it may contain a number of chemicals that are concerning. Among them are azo-aniline dyes, which can cause skin reactions ranging from mild to severe. If you are sensitive, these dyes can cause your skin to become red, itchy, and dry, especially in areas where the fabric touches your skin, such as your waist, neck, armpits, and thighs. Most of the irritants can be washed off, but it may take several washes to do so.

Formaldehyde resins are also used in clothing to reduce wrinkles and mold. Not only is formaldehyde a known carcinogen, but these resins have been linked to eczema and can cause skin peeling and rashes.^three Nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) is a toxic and endocrine disrupting surfactant used in clothing manufacturing.

Although we would prefer not to be exposed to NPEs if possible, when consumers wash their clothes, NPEs are released into local water supplies and cannot be removed by wastewater treatment plants.

When NPE enters the environment, it breaks down into nonylphenol (NP), a highly toxic and endocrine-disrupting chemical that accumulates in sediments and in fish and wildlife. In an interview with “clean fashion pioneer” Marcie Zaroff, Goop outlines some of the common chemicals you’re likely to find in your clothes.⁴

Most clothing chemicals are unregulated

You might think that buying clothes in the U.S. is safe and toxin-free, but that’s usually not the case, Zaroff told Goop.⁵

“The scale and variety of toxic chemicals in the fashion and textile industries is out of control. While some carcinogens are regulated (formaldehyde, for example, is regulated in the United States), most brands still manufacture overseas, and regulation lags far behind. And since only the most toxic chemicals are regulated in the United States, there are a huge number of unregulated chemicals that can cause allergic reactions.”

This is a problem for both the wearer and the environment. For example, textile dyeing plants tend to be located in developing countries where regulations are loose and labor costs are low. Untreated or minimally treated wastewater is usually discharged into nearby rivers, from where it spreads to seas and oceans, traveling around the world with ocean currents.

It is estimated that 40% of textile chemicals are emitted in China.⁶ According to Ecowatch, Indonesia also struggles with chemical pollution from the garment industry. The Citadel River is one of the world’s most polluted rivers, with hundreds of textile factories clustered along its shoreline. Clothing designer Ilene Fischer has called the garment industry “the world’s second-largest polluter… second only to oil.”⁷

Major apparel companies commit to using sustainable cotton by 2025

Genetically engineered (GE) cotton is widely used in the clothing industry, but while it may have a natural image, it is one of the dirtiest crops in the world due to the heavy use of toxic pesticides. It can also take hundreds of litres of water to produce just one T-shirt, putting a huge strain on local water supplies.⁸

King Charles III was one of the leading advocates of more sustainable cotton production, noting that it was “too often associated with the depletion of local water supplies and with the widespread and sometimes indiscriminate use of harmful pesticides, which can be very damaging to human health”.⁹

In 2017, 13 apparel and textile companies, including Levi Strauss & Co., Eileen Fisher, Nike, Woolworths Holdings and Sainsbury's, signed the Sustainable Cotton Joint Statement, pledging to use 100% sustainable cotton by 2025. Worldwide, more than 20 million tonnes of cotton are produced each year in more than 100 countries.¹⁰

The first 13 companies to sign up to the Sustainable Cotton Initiative produce 300,000 tonnes of cotton each year.¹¹ By 2021, 162 companies had signed the pledge, “committed to sourcing 100% of their cotton from one or more of the recognized programs and initiatives by 2025.”¹²

Microfiber contamination is another major problem

A study commissioned by sustainable clothing maker Patagonia found that synthetic jackets (like fleece) shed up to 2.7 grams (0.09 ounces) of microfibers per wash—up to 250,000 microfibers.

On average, these garments released 1.7 grams of microfibers, but the older jackets released fibers at twice the rate.¹³ Although wastewater treatment plants can filter out some of this debris, some (6,500 to 28,000) inevitably make it into our waterways.

Several variables affect how much debris is shed. For example, a jacket washed in a top-load washing machine shed five times more microfibers than a jacket washed in a front-load washing machine, but when comparing acrylic, polyester and polyester-cotton blends, acrylic performed the worst, shedding microfibers up to four times faster than polyester-cotton blends.¹⁴

Ironically, the practice of Patagonia and other outdoor companies making clothing from recycled plastic bottles to reduce waste may ultimately be destroying the environment.

The environmental impact of microfiber pollution is unknown, but their irregular shape may make them harder for marine life to excrete than other microplastics (such as microbeads). The longer the particles remain inside a fish, the more chemicals can be absorbed into the fish’s body.

Therefore, microfibers can harm marine life through two mechanisms: physical blockage and chemical poisoning. One solution to the problem of microfiber contamination is to install a filter in the washing machine. Similar to a lint trap in a dryer, it can catch fibers before they are released with the wastewater.

But the clothing industry has been slow to take action to tackle microfiber pollution, according to the LIFE-MERMAIDS project, which aims to reduce microfiber shedding during washing by 70%.¹⁵ The LIFE-MERMAIDS report recommends that special coatings be used to prevent microfibres from shedding during washing, and that detergents be reformulated to minimise fibre shedding.

Careful collaboration on what you wear

The purpose of the “Care What You Wear” campaign is to educate consumers on why and how to purchase clothing that supports organic and regenerative agriculture, responsible production, and fair labor practices, and to expose today's fast fashion industry that perpetuates ethically and environmentally unsound practices with the message of “buy more, buy cheaper.” For the “why,” consider these Care What You Wear facts:¹⁶

• It takes 5,000 gallons of water to make one pair of jeans.
• Cotton crops account for 24% of global pesticide use and 11% of global insecticide use.
• 25% of the chemicals produced worldwide are used in textiles

Also as mentioned in the campaign:

“Every time you buy a new piece of clothing, that purchase has a ripple effect on the environment. The global clothing industry is the second largest industrial polluter.

From the cultivation of GMO cotton to the production of wool and synthetic fibers, to the dyeing of those fabrics, to the factories where the clothes are assembled, at every step, soils are degraded, water is polluted, and workers are exploited. Can consumers help the fashion industry move away from this toxic model and toward a more ethical and regenerative one? Yes. If they buy wisely.”¹⁷

Finding clothes made from organic cotton is a great start to finding clothes that are safe and non-toxic (for you and the environment). Natural fiber clothes can also minimize the shedding of microfibers that are common in synthetic fabrics.

You can also find brands that are committed to reducing chemicals. Target, for example, was able to eliminate flame retardants from its products by 2022.¹⁸) with the Cradle to Cradle, GOTS certified textile or OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label, which indicates that the product has been tested by an independent laboratory and found to be free of over 100 harmful substances, including:

• Azo dyes
• Phthalates
• Heavy Metal
• Pesticide
• Allergenic dye

Ultimately, the best choice for the environment is to buy natural, organic, high-quality clothing and to buy less clothing overall. As Zaroff explains, you can also choose to buy vintage clothing or clothing you can find at thrift stores.¹⁹

“In many ways, buying vintage is the best way to solve the problem of waste in fashion. The most sustainable clothes are those that didn't have to be made in the first place. Plus, most old clothes are far less toxic than clothes produced today. The use of chemicals in textile manufacturing wasn't that common until the last 50 years or so.

However, germs and bacteria (including mould) can build up on old clothes, so stick to well-preserved vintage clothing and, as with any other garment, wash it before wearing.”