2023 is the detox year, and we’re cutting out all toxicity in food, clothes, and men. We're not able to advise you about men, but we can help with the clothing! As fast fashion has increased over the years, so have the chemicals and bleaches in our clothing. Many people don’t realize how many toxins they’re allowing to seep into their skin when they wear these clothes.
Also read: Is Synthetic Underwear Bad?
Whatever your personal style may be, we can all agree we don’t want toxic chemicals in our clothing. These harmful dyes and chemicals have been linked to autoimmune diseases and could also harm your reproductive system. Here are just a few chemicals that can be found in items in your wardrobe:
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Phthalates: Often found in synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, which is used to increase durability. However, it has been connected to endocrine disruption and other health problems.
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Formaldehyde: This is used in fabrics to prevent wrinkles and can cause skin irritation or rashes. This is a known carcinogen.
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Flame retardants: Chemicals may be added to fabrics to make them less likely to catch on fire, but these flame retardants are linked to causing cancer, hormone disruption, and developmental delays.
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Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE): These chemicals are used during the manufacturing process and have been seen to cause environmental damage as well as hormone disruption.
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Perfluorinated Chemicals: Often found in outdoor clothing to make them water resistant, but they have been seen to cause a number of health issues such as cancer and reproductive issues.
There are many other chemicals, dyes, and bleaches that are present in clothing which cause major health issues. If you purchase clothing from large corporations or fast fashion, chances are you need a closet detox. Unfortunately, most of those companies use polyester or other synthetic fabrics in their clothing.
Polyester is one of the most common fabrics used in fast fashion today along with bleaches and toxic dyes to create bright colors, this harmful combination is deteriorating our insides. We would never willingly dump chemicals onto our bare skin, so why are we allowing our clothing to contain them?
Image by master1305 on Freepik
Feel Lighter as You Detox Your Wardrobe
There are many ways to go about cleaning out the toxicity in your closet. The main goal is to get rid of the fast fashion made products that contain chemicals and dyes. This also helps reduce clutter and promote sustainability. Here are some ways you can detox your wardrobe:
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Organize your clothing: You can start by sorting through your clothes into piles of keep or donate. This will help you see which items you don’t need and are able to give away or donate.
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Remove synthetic fabrics: Synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester are harmful, and if possible, you should try to avoid wearing them.
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Shop secondhand or small businesses: A great way to contribute to reducing waste is to shop at thrift stores or small businesses, and supporting slow fashion.
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Store your clothing safely: Try to keep your clothes in a dry, well-venitlated space to prevent the growth of mildew and mold.
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Use natural laundry detergent: Natural detergent contributes to the use of less chemicals because regular detergents contain harmful chemicals that add to your clothing.
After visiting India and being fully immersed in a healthy, clean lifestyle, there were immediate positive impacts on our founder, Brit's immune system and health. She was able to fight her autoimmune disease by cleansing out the toxicity in her life. This started with shedding unnecessary toxins in fast fashion clothing and continuing down an all-natural future.
By removing these toxic and synthetic clothing, we are moving towards a healthier future. Beyond the effects that these clothes have on our bodies, they also are harming the environment around us. The production process leaks the toxic additives into nearby water supply and ecosystems, and when the garments reach the landfill they not only don’t break down efficiently but the chemicals are soaked into the ground.
We’re here to help you move toward a healthy future and provide you with stylish, trendy, and all-organic clothing. We want the absolute best for our BeachCandy family.
Written by Olivia Barger.