Clothing fabrics can also pose health risks
Release Time:
2011-10-18 14:10
Source:
Technology Digest
Clothing, food, housing, and transportation, with clothing as the priority. People find it hard to associate clothing with the word "harm." In fact, toxic clothing can harm the human body as much as toxic food. From the formation of the fabric to the production of the garment, opportunities for "retaining toxins" are everywhere. Below, renowned environmental chemistry expert, food safety expert, and Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the International Food Packaging Association, Dong Jinshi, explains: Can clothing fabrics also threaten health? How to choose safe and green clothes?
Question: What fabric is best for the human body? Or is there none?
Dong Jinshi: Clothes that meet national standards will not harm human health, but in terms of fabric, it is best to choose natural ecological products such as cotton, linen, silk, leather, wool, etc.
Question: Should newly bought clothes be washed before wearing?
Dong Jinshi: Newly bought clothes should first be soaked in clean water for several hours and then rinsed thoroughly. This can remove residual chemicals on the clothing and make the clothes softer and more comfortable.
Question: Besides environmental and price advantages, what other benefits do artificial fur have compared to real fur? How to choose?
Dong Jinshi: Besides sensory differences, you can also identify by burning. Take a bundle of yarn and burn it; pure wool fibers smell like burning hair, while synthetic fabrics smell like burning plastic. The harder the residue after burning, the more synthetic fiber content it contains.
Question: What materials are included in green fabrics? Cotton and linen fabrics? Mulberry silk? How to identify the quality when buying fabric at a wholesale market?
Dong Jinshi: Green fabrics include natural ecological fabrics such as cotton, linen, silk, wool, and leather. The simplest way to identify fabric is by burning: take a strand of fabric containing warp and weft yarns, ignite it, observe the flame, smell the odor after burning, and check the residue to determine the fabric composition.
Question: Are clothes sent to the laundry safe? Will there be chemical detergent residues?
Dong Jinshi: The most common solvent in dry cleaning agents is perchloroethylene. After skin absorbs the gas, it may cause cancer, damage liver function, weaken the central nervous system, and cause dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, and other symptoms.
Question: How to identify pure cotton clothing?
Dong Jinshi: Check the label; those marked 100% cotton are pure cotton. When burned, pure cotton products smell like burning paper, and the ash after burning is minimal, black or gray in color.
Question: Professor Dong, hello! I want to ask, what are the national standards for clothing?
Dong Jinshi: GB 18401-2003 "National Basic Safety Technical Specification for Textile Products" divides clothing into three categories: Class A for infant products, with formaldehyde content not exceeding 20mg/kg and pH value 4.0–7.5; Class B for products in direct contact with skin, with formaldehyde content not exceeding 75mg/kg and pH value 4.0–7.5; Class C for products not in direct contact with skin, with pH value 4.0–9.0, formaldehyde content not exceeding 300mg/kg, and no odor.
Question: What do B and C levels mean when buying clothes? Are they safety levels? How to identify the color fastness of clothes? Thank you!
Dong Jinshi: GB 18401-2003 "National Basic Safety Technical Specification for Textile Products" divides clothing into three categories: A for infant products, B for products in direct contact with skin, and C for products not in direct contact with skin.
Question: Many clothes now claim to be made of new fabrics like modal, bamboo charcoal, etc., but we are not very familiar with these materials. What should we pay attention to when purchasing? How to distinguish which are truly good new fabrics?
Dong Jinshi: It is best to follow three steps: first, check the label and company information for completeness; second, ask the salesperson about specific details and usage; third, identify and confirm by testing, such as burning and smelling to distinguish authenticity.
Question: Trendy terms like low carbon, green food, and so on. Please tell me, are there green clothes? Very plain, simple clothes?
Dong Jinshi: "Green clothing" mainly refers to green textiles and ecological clothing. Internationally developed and marketed "green textiles" generally have multiple functions such as deodorization, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, UV protection, radiation resistance, anti-itch, and moisture enhancement. This type of product is still in its infancy in China, mainly focusing on underwear, but because these textiles have specific health benefits, they are quite popular among consumers.
Question: How to read and identify the codes on clothing fabrics?
Dong Jinshi: The code on clothing has five digits. The first digit represents the raw material used, the second digit represents the fabric structure, and the following digits are the product serial number. Before these numbers, uppercase English letters represent the product's place of origin. From the product code, you can identify the raw material and origin.
Previous Page
Related Documents
undefined
Other News
2025.03.31
2025.03.19
2025.03.11
2025.03.10
2025.02.18
2025.02.18