Does your child's skin seem irritated? There could be truly freaky reason for that. A news station investigation uncovered formaldehyde in baby clothing. And now a senator is stepping in to ask the government to look into setting standards for chemicals in children's clothes.
Minneapolis Care 11 sent baby clothes to a lab for testing after a mother wrote in, complaining that her daughter's legs had broken out into a rash after wearing a new pair of leggings (she hadn't washed the leggings first). They sent different brands, and the results were disturbing.
Out of 18 articles of clothing, two pairs of leggings had levels of formaldehyde higher than the apparel industry's standards. That would be 20 parts per million. I kind of think maybe the standard should be something like ZERO levels of formaldehyde, but that's just me.
Trace amounts of formaldehyde were found in four other articles of clothing. Again -- really wish the chemical wasn't there at all.
I suppose we could be grateful that out of 18 articles of clothing, 12 were formaldehyde-free. Juice and crackers for everyone! Let's throw a happy baby clothes party! But that's not good enough for me.
Unlike other countries, the U.S. doesn't have standards for how much formaldehyde goes into children's clothing. BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD. It's usually used to keep clothing wrinkle-free, obviously a priority with BABY CLOTHING -- WTF?!? Who cares about wrinkles in their baby leggings? Unless companies are just buying pre-treated textiles and using the stuff to make clothes in all sizes. But still, even though I think it's worse to have chemicals in baby clothes, I don't want chemicals in my clothes, either.
And washing your clothes first (always a good idea anyway) won't break down all that formaldehyde completely. On the other hand, not everyone is allergic to the stuff. But it's also been linked to cancer, so ... ugh.
Anyway, Senator Amy Khlobuchar is going to try and get some kind of regulation for chemicals in kids' clothes. I wish her luck -- but I think what's really going to help is if more and more parents demand chem-free clothes for their babies.
But man, this makes you want to buy baby clothes that are specifically labeled as chemical-free, doesn't it?
Are you worried about chemicals in your kids' clothing?
Image via Kare11.com