Can toxic chemicals in your clothing make you sick?

You may spend time thinking about what’s in your closet, but have you ever thought about what’s in your clothing?

With the rise of fast fashion and performance fabrics, experts warn the chemical make-up of our clothing is getting more complex and potentially more toxic.

“If you've heard of a hazardous chemical, it might well be on your clothing,” said Alden Wicker, investigative journalist and author of "To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick - And How We Can Fight Back."

Things like lead, arsenic, nickel, heavy metals, plasticizers, flame retardants, formaldehyde and forever chemicals are routinely added to clothing, Wicker said.

“They can be put there intentionally to give performance qualities. They could make things stain-proof, water-resistant, wrinkle-free, easy care. They could give it bright colors,” he stated.

According to the American Apparel and Footwear Association, more than 97% of the clothing sold in the U.S. is imported from other countries - like Bangladesh, India and Vietnam - which can be problematic.

“They just don't have the same protections that we do, the environmental protections. They don't test the wastewater. They allow anybody to buy or make any chemicals and use them in any way. So that has a big role to play in how these toxic chemicals end up on our clothing,” Wicker said.

Various studies have found exposure to those chemicals can cause anything from skin irritation and respiratory issues to several types of cancer, fetal abnormalities and reduced immune system function.

“All points of your health could be affected by what you wear,” Wicker said.

Even with all this information, Wicker explained the use of chemical compounds in fabric manufacturing is largely unregulated in the U.S.

So how can you tell if there are chemicals leaching out of your clothing?

To find that answer, NBC 5 Responds turned to Dr. John Anderson, associate chair of the chemistry department at the University of Chicago.

“One of the reasons why I think it's a fun story to think about is because we can start to ask like, are these things around? Should we be worried? A lot of those questions are unanswered still,” Anderson.

We brought several samples for Anderson to test including dress shirts, fashion tops and work-out clothing marketed as wrinkle-free, stain-resistant, water-resistant and moisture wicking.

NBC 5 Responds brought in neon clothing, which Wicker said often contains Azo dyes.

Studies show some forms of it can cause cancer.

Anderson and his team started by cutting up the samples and submerging them into solvents.

“We're doing some quick tests to see if we can see any evidence for chemicals leaching out,” Anderson explained.

After a few hours - the results were in. First - the forever chemicals with surprising findings on the shirt labeled "‘wrinkle free."

“If there's one that we saw that might have a slight signal for a PFAS [Forever Chemicals], it was the white one,” Anderson said.

Next, the dyes.

“The black fabrics that we tested actually appear to have the most visible leaching of color out into the solution when we tried that. And we also see evidence from the analysis that we ran that there's some sort of dye molecule that's leaching out of those,” the professor explained. “The brightly colored ones actually look like they're ok, interestingly.”

Anderson said his testing equipment isn’t sensitive enough to find all the toxic chemicals studies have shown are usually present in these types of clothing. But Wicker explained that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

“There's no way unless you have $10,000 lying around to get all of these things tested because the, the best test, they test chemical by chemical, and there's hundreds of chemicals, and each test is, you know, 300 to $500,” said Wicker.

It can be confusing to know which fabrics to avoid, but here are some key takeaways:

• Wash any new clothing items before you wear them. They may be treated with chemicals like formaldehyde or contain other leftover dyes that can irritate skin.
• Buy natural fibers when possible - like cotton.
• Avoid performance products with marketing promises like being wrinkle-free, or stain- and water-resistant. They may contain chemicals that can irritate your skin, or Wicker warned, impact your health in the long run.
• It is also for that reason, Wicker said, many lawsuits over toxic chemicals found in brand-name clothing have failed.
• -Look for brands that use certifications like Oeko-Tex, GOTS, or Bluesign, which indicate that the clothing is free of toxic chemicals.

Check out the website https://ecocult.com/ for more information and resources.