The clothing toxin crisis cannot be ignored; clothing safety requires vigilance
In recent years, besides learning about and paying attention to toxins in food additives, the general public has gradually discovered the hidden toxic threat in the clothes they wear next to their skin. In particular, the concept of "transdermal toxins" has recently spread from Japan to Taiwan, China, and people have begun to take seriously the fact that toxins penetrating through the skin are no less harmful than toxins entering through the mouth. So besides food safety, the safety of clothing is also worth our attention and discussion.
Regarding the potential toxic threats in everyday clothing, this article will briefly discuss fluorescent whitening agents, formaldehyde, azo dyes (AZO Dye) and environmental hormones (nonylphenol).
1. Fluorescent whitening agents: whitening and brightening, but with a cancer risk
The main purpose of using fluorescent whitening agents in clothing is to make products whiter, more colorful, and more bright and shiny. Because fluorescent whitening agents are easy to process and have a very good bleaching effect, they are widely used in paper, gauze, cotton, laundry detergent, white shirts, underwear and T-shirts. Fluorescent whitening agents can penetrate the human body through skin disease or irritate the skin and cause allergies, and because they may be carcinogenic and are not easily broken down, they pollute sewers and groundwater, causing adverse effects on the environment. Europe, the United States and Japan have all completely banned their use in baby clothing.
To find out whether clothing contains fluorescent whitening agents, you can use an ultraviolet lamp or a counterfeit-detection pen. Place the clothing under a fluorescent tube, and you will see a very obvious blue-white phosphorescent glow; after exposure to ultraviolet light, the stronger the light intensity, the higher the content of fluorescent whitening agents. This is because if fluorescent whitening agents are added during the dyeing and finishing process of textiles, they produce a brightening effect that makes the appearance look more brilliant.
Generally speaking, most snow-white and pure-white textiles have fluorescent whitening agents added. In addition, please note that some laundry detergents also contain fluorescent whitening agents, so choosing laundry powder is also important. Otherwise, the washing process not only fails to wash out the fluorescent whitening agents, but also "replenishes" them into the clothes.
(Left) Two white T-shirts. The upper one, which is environmentally friendly bleached and contains no fluorescent whitening agents, looks less bright white than the lower one and is even slightly yellowish.
(Right) Under fluorescent light in the dark, the lower white T-shirt clearly shows a white-blue fluorescence, while the upper one looks dim with no fluorescent reaction.
2. Formaldehyde (commonly known as formalin): causes itchy, painful skin and is also a carcinogen
Formaldehyde (commonly known as formalin) is also a chemical component often used in clothing. It can prevent mold and wrinkles and make clothing stiff and crisp, but formaldehyde can cause itchy, painful or reddened skin, and it also pollutes the environment. It has also been proven to be a carcinogen. At present, the national standard for free formaldehyde content in clothing in our country is that it must not exceed seventy-five ppm, so when choosing clothing, please note whether there is a strong, pungent fishy smell, or hold the clothing close to your eyes; if it contains formaldehyde, the irritation will make you feel like tearing up. However, because formaldehyde has volatile properties, after several washes the formaldehyde remaining in the textiles can be completely released. Experiments show that after washing clothing once, the formaldehyde concentration can drop to 50 percent of the original; after washing twice it drops to 40 percent; after washing three times it drops to 25 percent; but fluorescent whitening agents require many washes before their levels are reduced.
3. Azo dyes: carry a cancer risk
Azo dyes are widely used for dyeing and printing textiles, leather goods and more. Although azo dyes have advantages such as a wide color spectrum, a complete range of color types and high fastness, some harmful azo dyes, after mixing with components released during human metabolism and undergoing an "azo group reduction reaction," may release aromatic amines with carcinogenic risk. The European Union already completely banned their use in textiles and other products that come into direct, long-term contact with the skin as early as 2002.
Although Taiwan, China has already regulated that the national standard for azo content must not exceed 30PPM, news of the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection finding clothing containing carcinogenic azo dyes during spot checks in Wufenpu still frequently appears in the newspapers. Unlike fluorescent whitening agents or formaldehyde, which can be identified by simple methods and removed by washing, ordinary consumers cannot tell from the appearance whether a product contains azo dyes (unless they buy undyed greige fabric products, such as organic cotton).
Besides the above three chemical toxins with cancer risk, recently the issue of environmental hormones remaining in clothing has also been exposed by environmental conservation groups and briefly attracted public attention.
4. Environmental hormones: highly toxic and cumulative, may cause infertility
At the end of 2012, Greenpeace purchased 141 items of clothing from 29 regions around the world, including Taiwan, China, for residue testing. As a result, NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylates) were detected in 63% of the samples. Once NPE enters the natural environment, it breaks down into NP (nonylphenol), which is more toxic and has persistent and bioaccumulative properties. Nonylphenol is also an environmental hormone, and it can accumulate through the food chain and be magnified level by level. This all poses great risks to the environment and the health of living things, and may even affect the human endocrine system, causing problems such as infertility and feminization of males.
Although consumers can wash away the NPE remaining in clothing with water, the NPE will still remain in the environment along with the wastewater and continue to threaten human health through the food chain. Even worse, there are currently no regulations restricting the sale of products with NPE residues, nor any regulations setting a standard for NPE residues. When will people be free from the threat of toxic and harmful substances? This still requires the power of everyone working together!
Guide to choosing and using clothing:
(1) If the clothing looks especially white and bright, it may contain excessive fluorescent whitening agents.
(2) Avoid buying clothing with an unclear brand, unclear labeling of ingredients or place of origin, or an excessively low price.
(3) Choose certified organic cotton products.
(4) You can try buying natural, undyed greige clothing.
(5) After buying new clothes and bringing them home, wash them in water before wearing.
(6) Use environmentally friendly laundry detergent and avoid detergents that overemphasize a brightening and whitening effect.