The Health Risks of Toxic Fibers and Fabrics

Bruna Messina said that people when they buy clothes they only care for fabric that are wrinkle free, stain resistant and insect repellent. She said people should know what are they wearing and those fabrics have tones of toxic that affect our body negatively. She listed materials that highly toxic to our body that we commonly see in clothing labels. 

First chemical she talked about is polyester. Polyester fiber is made from synthetic polymes, which are made from esters of dihydric alcohol and terphalic acid. When people use this fabric for a long time, that will lead to skin cancer, other type of cancer, chronic and severe respiratory infections, rashes, itching, redness and dermatitis, for some people will develop disorders for example, reduced sperm count. Polyester is also hazardous to the environment. 

Second chemical she talked about is Rayon. Rayon is made off recycled wood pulp, carbon disulphide, sulfuric acid, ammonia, acetone, and caustic soda.  Carbon disulphide can cause nausea, headache, vomiting, chest and muscle pain, and insomnia. Rayon toxin can cause anorexia, Parkinson disease, and water pollution.

Third chemical she talked about is acrylic. Acrylic is one of the toxin that cause breast cancer for women, high inflammable, not easy to recycle and not bridgeable in the environment.

Furth chemical she talked about is Nylon. Nylon receives chemical treatments using caustic soda, sulfuric acid, and formaldehyde. Nylon is the least eco-friendly textile. It can cause cancer, skin allergies, dizziness, headache, spine pain, and dysfunction.

She recommended that in order for people to reduce these risk factors they should look for more natural product such as cotton, wool, cashmere, hemp, linen, silk, and organic fiber.

The author concluded the article by saying that fashion and fabric industry should develop fabric less hazardous to the users and the environment. 

 http://fashionbi.com/newspaper/the-health-risks-of-toxic-fibers-and-fabrics