So many things around our home can make us sick, but have you ever thought about what’s in your clothing?
BPA, which is a chemical used in plastics - typically found in Tupperware containers, water bottles, the coating inside of canned goods, and plastic toys - has been found in sports bras, shirts, and athletic wear.
A recent study has shown that BPA has been found in clothing from big brands such as Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike, FILA, New Balance, and Reebok.
Exposure to BPAs has been linked to health issues such as heart disease, asthma, and cancer, and can be found in almost all of us! They have even found that it can be passed along to your newborn and infants through breast milk.
Another investigation linked Shein, Old Navy, and even Lululemon to having harsh chemical properties such as PFAs, and lead in their clothing.. These chemicals can lead to serious complications such as kidney damage.
Looks like I am going to have some closet purging to do.
The biggest issue with these chemicals being in your clothing is that we typically have our clothes on all day long. The more exposure we have to these toxins, the more likely we are to become sick from them.
Our skin is really vulnerable all the time, it’s an open door for the absorption of toxins, especially when in direct contact.
Some of the most absorbent parts of our bodies are the crotch regions and armpits.
Think about our gym clothes or anything we wear in the heat, or while we’re sweating. It's not good.
I can’t help but also think about our kids, who are so young and their bodies are still developing. If they’re exposed to these chemicals regularly from a young age, they will have a lifetime of exposure and therefore a higher risk of illness from it.
I know that it’s common to buy our kids athleticwear these days, so maybe for now we should stick to the brands that aren’t on this list for our families.
This is really unfortunate, but it’s better to know about it than be left in the dark. Now we can all make conscious choices about our clothing moving forward!
I am going to do some research into some better brands so I can follow up with more information, and hopefully this starts a trend of third-party testing on our clothing, and forces these brands to make better decisions on what goes into their clothing, and what they’re willing to expose their customers to!
Let me know if you clean out your closet, like I’m going to!
