A lot of women are worried about toxins in makeup and beauty products, yet overlook the health concerns related to what we put up against our skin everyday: CLOTHING. Fast fashion is suspected of having some major health consequences for humans and the environment.
I read a book called Killer Clothes about a year ago, and I haven’t purchased clothing from big name, department store brands since January 2015.
Here is a tiny list of concerns with fast fashion (there are more than this):
- You skin is your largest organ of absorption – it eats everything we put on it. If your clothes are made from Polyester, Nylon, Rayon, Acrylic, you’re basically wearing plastic and absorbing any of 8,000 synthetic chemicals including petroleum-based ones.
- Dyes and finishes are then used on these synthetic fibres which can contain heavy metals, the bioaccumulation of which is associated with negative skin reactions and organ damage. These dyes are also especially damaging to aquatic life species.
- Phthalates are sometimes used to bond dyes to fibres. This chemical is known as ‘gender bending’ causing harm to the reproductive and developmental system.
- Formaldehyde, which is known to be capable of causing cancer in humans and has a connection to respiratory tract damage, is frequently used in clothing to preserve finishes.
As much as possible, we should only be wearing clothing made from natural sources such as hemp, silk, alpaca, organic wool and organic cotton (non-organic cotton is still processed with hazardous chemicals).
It’s most important to wear underwear that is non-toxic and natural fibre. We especially don’t want to be putting low doses of concerning chemicals in that area on a daily basis. That was my first step to detoxing my wardrobe, and I started by switching over to all organic cotton, toxin-free undies with PACT Apparel.
It can be hard to find nice looking eco-clothing, but I’ve found some pieces lately that I really love, and I’m looking forward to sharing soon!
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