DO you know that you should wash and iron your brand new clothes before wearing them and not only after you have worn them? Are you aware there could be dangerous toxins in your brand new “designer” clothing?
Several long-term, negative, cumulative effects on health have been traced back to toxic chemicals used to create synthetic fiber for nightwears, towels and bedding.
If the expression “wash and wear” is to be taken seriously, it has relevance for brand new clothes now more than ever. Calls are currently on for urgent action to replace hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives especially in clothing and other consumer products.
Why you must wash
New clothes should always be properly washed before wearing, according to close watchers of the global textile and clothing industry. The reason is that the discovery of several hidden toxin sources in new clothes has become more than a passing concern.
As more and more toxic chemicals are being used excessively for processing garment fibres and also for manufacturing clothes, the need for awareness in societies such as Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised.
For decades, Nigeria has been dumping ground for substandard products, notably from China and Southeast Asia. Billions of clothing materials carrying multinational brand name labels are brought in endlessly from regions with shoddy regulatory agency protection.
After clothes are made, they are often covered with formaldehyde – a chemical that keeps clothes from wrinkling or becoming mouldy. But formaldehyde is a toxic agent that triggers severe allergic reactions. Investigations have discovered up to 500 times the safe level of formaldehyde in clothing shipped to brand name clothiers form factories in
Another commonly used clothing chemical is Nonylphenol Ehtoxylate (NPE) which is freely used in clothing factories located in China and Southeast Asia. Investigations show that 14 of the biggest name brands in wears get their clothing from factories using NPE – commonly used as detergents in many textile industries located abroad. The chemicals break down to form Nonylphenol – a toxin with hormone-disrupting properties that is similar to BPA.
Wrinkle free or no-iron should be considered a warning for carcinogenic perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) such as Teflon and Petrochemical dyes. Black clothing and dyes for leathers often contain p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), which can produce allergic reactions. There could be flame retardants in bedding and nightwear., Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dioxin-producing bleach are used by textile industries.
Protection tips
Read clothing labels and try to avoid synthetic materials such as rayon, nylon, polyester, acrylic, acetate or Ttiacetate. Be particularly suspicious of no-iron, wrinkle free and preshrunk items.
But if you must purchase clothes made of these itemes, wash and dry thoroughly two or three times before wearing using safe, organic detergents. Do not patronise dry cleaners that use banned perchloroethylene.
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