Toxic in clothes: What is its impact on health?|Ocu
FAST FASHION: THE DISPOSABLE FASHION phenomenon
Between 2000 and 2014 the Fast Fashion phenomenon changed our purchase habits, we went from having 2 seasons (spring-summer and autumn-winter) to a constant rotation of clothing collections.This favored that the production and consumption of clothing garments be doubled (even 100,000 million garments), while their time of use was reduced by half.
This business model also associated a lowering clothes, which allowed us to change our closet more often and without worrying (in excess) for money.But are we aware of the impact of Fast Fashion for the environment and our health?
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE FAST FASHION
The textile industry is the second most polluting for the environment, after the oil, and worst of all is that most consumers do not know what the real impact that our clothes has on the environment is.This is because clothing labels do not provide enough information about raw materials, nor on the manufacturing process from their origin to their waste.
If so, we would be aware that the proliferation in recent years of the use of materials such as polyester or polyamide in the preparation of clothing due to its low cost has in some way influenced the pollution of our seas, for example, for example,releasing microplastics in each wash.
Also, and despite being a "natural" fabric, we would know that the cotton situation is not better than that of synthetic.About 2.5 % of the cultivable lands of the world are used for cotton plantations that, in turn, consume 25 % of the pesticides used globally.
Another thing that users do not have is information on the environmental effects derived from the manufacture of garments and the more than 1,500 chemical substances that are used to bleach the tissues, dye, waterproof them, make them resistant to wrinkles ... well, mostThey are not even classified in terms of toxicity.
To all this, we would have to add emissions and waste related to transport, care and elimination of clothing.Although there are entities such as AERESS (Spanish Association of Recovers of the Social and Solidarity Economy) and human that have been recovering textile waste for later reuse or recycling, they continue to assume between 10-15 % of the waste that is thrown to the landfill.
In short, the impact that fashion has on the environment happens throughout the life cycle of a garment and its effects are very varied as we see in the following image:
From consumer organizations, we claim that clothing labels collect information about raw materials, as well as the environmental impact of their manufacturing process.Only in this way consumers can value and make ethical decisions if they want.
In addition to the impact on the environment, some chemicals that are used in the elaboration of clothing are harmful to our health, since direct contact with the skin and sweat causes the risk of suffering from dermatitis, allergies or skin irritations.That is why it is recommended to wash clothes before wearing it for the first time to reduce the presence of potentially toxic substances.
Chemicals in clothing can harm health
In OCU we have been doing studies for several years and tracking the presence of these chemicals, both in clothes and other objects.Next, we collect in a table some of the most frequent in the garments:
| Sustancias químicas | ¿Para qué se usa? | Efectos sobre la salud | ¿Dónde están? |
| Ftalatos | Son aditivos que se usan en los plásticos para mejorar su flexibilidad, duración y transparencia | Pueden afectar al sistema hormonal y reproductivo | |
| Azoicos y dispersantes | Son colorantes y sustancias que se utilizan para tintes | Pueden ser carcinogénicos como los azoicos o alergénicos como los dispersantes | |
| Metales pesados (plomo, cromo, níquel...) | Suelen usarse en tintes o accesorios | Son tóxicos | |
| Formaldehido | Sustancia que se emplea para ayudar a la fijación de otro ingredientes o para mejorar las propiedades (repeler manchas, antiarrugas, prevenir la aparición de hongos...) | Puede provocar irritación en la piel, problemas respiratorios e, incluso, se relaciona con procesos cancerígenos | |
| Nonilfenoles | Son jabones que se utilizan en procesos de tinción | Es una sustancia corrosiva para los ojos, la piel y el tracto respiratorio que puede causar edema pulmonar. También altera los mecanismos endocrinos | |
| Dimetilfumarato | Conservante que se añade a los productos para evitar la proliferación microbiana en ambientes húmedos | Causa fuertes reacciones dérmicas por su alto poder alergizante e, incluso, puede dar síntomas respiratorios entre trabajadores expuestos |
We want specific legislation
By regulations, the chemical substances used in textiles have to be collected in the REACH Regulation, whose objective is to protect the environment and our health from the manufacture, marketing and use of chemical substances and mixtures.Even so, in OCU we miss a specific legislation such as, for example, that of cosmetic products or detergents.
However, some clothing manufacturers submit their textiles to voluntary certifications that establish specific restrictions for the most controversial chemicals.An example of this is the OEKO-TEX® certification.These types of actions provide some peace of mind, since it could be said that the garments that carry this badge offer additional security.
Anyway, and while we expect the arrival of this specific legislation, here are some practical advice:
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