Li Mei (pseudonym) is a woman in her forties. She was the owner of a clothing store more than 20 years ago and often tried on various sample clothes. Her fate began to change quietly at that time.
One day, she heard a piece of horrifying news from the owner of a clothing factory where she often purchased goods: there was a batch of very cheap clothes whose dyes contained strong carcinogens.
Li Mei (pseudonym) realized that she had tried on the clothes and consciously cut them off to avoid selling them to customers. However, today, more than 20 years later, she was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The doctor told her that this was related to her exposure to dyes more than 20 years ago.
The State Administration for Market Regulation discovered during a random inspection that women's clothing produced by a company contained a large amount of "benzidine", with the content exceeding the safe value by 27 times! After long-term contact with human skin, this carcinogen can even change the genetic structure and cause serious diseases, such as bladder cancer.
01. The harm behind poisonous clothes
There are huge harms hidden behind poisonous clothes. Its impact is not limited to superficial clothing quality problems, but also affects people's health and quality of life at a deeper level.
Toxic clothes may contain a large amount of harmful substances, such as formaldehyde, benzidine, etc. When these harmful substances are in long-term contact with human skin, they can penetrate into the human body through the skin and cause various health problems.
Formaldehyde is a common harmful substance. Long-term exposure can cause skin allergies, respiratory diseases, etc., and may even cause cancer. Benzidine is a confirmed carcinogen, and long-term exposure may cause serious diseases such as bladder cancer.
The harmful substances contained in poisonous clothes may have adverse effects on the human reproductive system. Women who wear clothes containing harmful substances for a long time may affect the health of their ovaries and uterus, while men may face risks such as decreased function and reduced fertility.
The harm of poisonous clothes may also extend to the home environment. Some harmful substances may be released during the washing process, polluting the home environment and posing a threat to the health of your family. Especially infants, young children and the elderly are more susceptible to the effects of harmful substances due to their weaker body resistance.
02. How should we identify poisonous clothes?
Checking the tags of clothes is an important breakthrough. A qualified piece of clothing should have information such as logo, brand introduction and certificate of conformity. The certificate of conformity is particularly important. It is equivalent to the "ID card" of the clothing.
If a piece of clothing does not have a certificate of conformity, it is likely that it has not passed quality inspection and is a "black house" product. Such clothing should be regarded as defective goods.
Paying attention to the safety level of clothing is also an important identification standard. Clothing can be divided into three categories according to the formaldehyde content. Category A refers to infant products; Category B refers to clothing that can directly contact the skin; and Category C refers to clothing that does not directly contact the skin.
When purchasing underwear, consumers should choose products of category B or above; for category C clothing, they should avoid direct contact with the skin and can be worn as outerwear.
Paying attention to the grade of the product is also an important indicator for identifying poisonous clothes. clothing can be divided into three levels: excellent, first class and qualified. Premium products have the best quality, while qualified products have relatively poor quality.
When purchasing, you can choose the appropriate product level according to your own needs. But it should be noted that no matter which grade of clothing is chosen, its quality must meet the requirements of national standards.
Carefully reviewing washing instructions is also an important step in identifying poisonous clothing. Regular clothes will be marked with washing instructions in the order of "wash → bleach → dry → iron". If the order of washing instructions is disrupted or missing, it means that the manufacturer may not be compliant.
03. In addition to looking at the hangtags, you must also know these 4 points
Avoid buying street stalls or clothes without hangtags or labels: This type of clothing often does not have formal source channels and quality assurance measures, and there are greater quality risks.
Try to minimize the purchase of denim items: Although denim items are fashionable and versatile, they have huge price differences and uneven quality. In order to save costs, some low-priced denim clothes are often dyed with low-quality chemical dyes and auxiliaries, which are prone to fading and have a pungent smell.
Give priority to light-colored clothing: Dark or bright-colored clothing requires the use of more dyes and auxiliaries during the dyeing process, and the greater the possibility of residual harmful substances.
When you get new clothes, you must wash and dry them first before wearing them: Many consumers often put them on directly after buying new clothes and ignore the possible hygiene problems of the new clothes. In fact, even if manufacturers do not use toxic materials in the production process, new clothes may still contain some dust, bacteria and other contaminants.
When buying clothes, we should not only pursue fashion and beauty, but also pay attention to product quality and safety. There are huge health risks hidden behind poisonous clothes, which may have unpredictable effects on our lives. We should remain vigilant, learn how to identify poisonous clothes, and choose products with reliable quality and harmlessness.
