Recently, researchers and advocates have ramped up the practice of buying and testing regular garments and the results are illuminating. The Center for Environmental Health in California has found high levels of the hormone-disrupting chemical BPA in polyester-spandex socks and sports bras by dozens of large brands, including Nike, Athleta, Hanes, Champion, New Balance, and Fruit of the Loom, at up to 19 times California’s safety limit.
When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had 38 pieces of children’s clothing tested from the ultra- fast- fashion brands Zaful, AliExpress, and Shein, it found that one in five had elevated levels of toxic chemicals such as lead, PFAS, and phthalates. This year, the period panty brand Thinx settled a lawsuit stemming from a test by a Notre Dame professor showing high levels of fluorine, indicating the presence of PFAS, a highly toxic class of “forever chemicals” that provide water and stain repellency.
Some of the chemicals scientists have found in garments – such as tributyl phosphate, dimethyl fumarate, and disperse dyes – can be acutely toxic or hazardous, causing skin reactions or asthma. Others have been proven, outside of their use on clothing, to have links to cancer, reproductive toxicity, allergies, and skin sensitization.
Wicker. (2023, July 3). Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion. The Guardian. Retrieved October 4, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/jul/02/fashion-chemicals-pfas-bpa-toxic
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