| How Important is it to Wash New Clothes before Wearing them? |
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By Dr. Mercola |
| Are you guilty of bringing home a new shirt or pair of pants from the store and wearing them, sans washing? It’s very common, as many fabrics look pristine when they’re fresh off the rack. |
| You probably assume they’re clean, but tests conducted by Philip Tierno, Ph.D. Director of Microbiology and Immunology at NYU, uncovered some disturbing compounds lurking on clothing. |
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And this is only one reason to consider washing before wearing. Many clothing items are also contaminated with chemicals and dyes that may lead to irritation or other health issues. |
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Even insects (like lice) could potentially be transmitted on new clothes. If you’re currently not a wash-before-wearing type, you may change your mind by the end of this article. |
Feces, Respiratory Secretions, Vaginal Organisms and More
Tierno tested various clothing items purchased from chain clothing stores (including both high-end and low-end options). The tests revealed a number of unsavoury compounds lurking on the “new” clothes, including: |
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Respiratory secretions |
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Fecal flora |
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Skin flora |
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Yeast |
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Perhaps not surprisingly, swimsuits, underwear and other intimate items were the most heavily contaminated. |
Chemical Contaminants
Depending on what country your new clothes were manufactured in, they may contain multiple chemicals which may cause skin reactions ranging from mild to severe. |
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If you’re sensitive, these may leave your skin red, itchy and dry, especially where the fabric rubs on your skin, such as at your waist, neck, armpits and thighs. |
Chemicals may Lurk in your Clothing even after Washing
Unfortunately, washing won’t remove all the chemicals in your clothing. For instance, the antimicrobial triclosan is sometimes added to fabrics. Research has shown that triclosan can alter hormone regulation and may interfere with fetal development. Animal studies have also raised concerns about its ability to affect fertility, and bacteria exposed to triclosan may also become resistant to antibiotics. Even an increased cancer risk has been suggested. |
| Stain-proof clothing, meanwhile, is a common source of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which are toxic to humans and the environment. Unless the clothing you buy is organic, it also is likely made from genetically engineered (GE) cotton that is heavily treated with chemicals during production. |
Conventionally Grown GE Cotton is the ‘World’s Dirtiest Crop’
You might be surprised to learn that cotton is considered the world’s dirtiest crop due to the cotton industry’s heavy use of hazardous herbicides and insecticides. This is hazardous on multiple levels — for the farmers, the people living nearby, the consumers buying the cotton and virtually everyone else. |
Top Tips for Safer Clothing
Looking for clothing made from organic cotton is an excellent start to finding safe, non-toxic clothing. You can also look for the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label, which is indicative that it has been tested by an independent laboratory and found to be free of harmful levels of more than 100 substances. |
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| Finally, many experts do recommend washing new clothes when you bring them home from the store, maybe even twice. |
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| You may also want to keep on some clothes while trying on new clothing at a store (at least your undergarments, and then wash those when you get home). Washing your hands after shopping is also a good idea. |
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| Article Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/01/30/wash-new-clothes-before-wearing.aspx |
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