In the article Clothing with a warning, we wrote about the chemical cocktail that is hidden in our clothes. The list of chemicals that manufacturers add to our clothes is long, as are their potential effects on our health. Don't like the idea of wearing oil, formaldehyde or toxic dyes every day? Fortunately, there are ways to minimize chemicals in clothing and dress "healthy."
If you want to reduce potentially toxic chemicals in your wardrobe, try the following tips when choosing your clothes:
1. Buy things with certification
Look for GOTS certification (one of the strictest), or Bluesign, EU Ecolabel or OEKO-TEX.
2. Give preference to organic materials
Organic cotton, flax, bamboo or hemp are grown without pesticides and herbicides. Of course, it also depends on how these materials are further processed - the certificates mentioned above will help you with that.
You can view, for example, the Slow, baby collection made of cotton with the highest GOTS certification.
3. Wash the clothes before wearing them for the first time
No matter where things are from, from any material, from a sustainable brand - always wash them before wearing them for the first time.
4. Buy second hand
Worn clothes have already been washed many times and should therefore contain less chemical substances.
5. Search for information
Study the tags on clothing and spend a few minutes reading the brand's website. If the brand is transparent, it should be traceable to how and from what it makes its clothes.
6. Avoid synthetic materials
The basic raw material for the production of synthetic materials such as polyester, acrylic or nylon is petroleum, to which a lot of chemicals are added. Every piece of clothing loses a certain amount of weight during its life cycle. However, it makes a difference if particles of organic cotton or chemically treated petroleum stick to our skin...
7. Don't buy things with super features
If the clothing is decorated with attributes such as stain resistant , wrinkle resistant, odor resistant, easy iron, etc., pay attention. It has these properties only and only thanks to special chemicals.
You can find more content on the topic of healthy clothes on our Instagram , under the hashtag #zdraveobleceni.
Author: Teresa Reyes