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Contributed by our friend Destiny
Any time I buy new clothes or sheets, the first thing I always do is wash them. Detergent, warm cycle, cool rinse. I do it because thatâs just what you do, because factories are dirty, and what we buy travels a long way before it makes its way to us.
Short of sanitary reasons, I never gave this little routine of mine much thought, until I got pregnant with my first child and decided, quite suddenly, I wanted to know exactly what I was washing out of my clothes and sheets every time I bought them.
What I learned was that an industry responsible for clothing us and tucking us in at night was doing a lot more than just transporting and dying our fabrics. What goes into the materials that spend all of their time right up against our skin was, to be honest, pretty sketchy. That was when I decided enough was enough â organic sheets and clothes, from here on out.
flame retardant chemicals and our sheets
First things first, your sheets, your bedding, your clothes â just about any conventional fabric you come into contact with â is treated with flame retardant chemicals. There are federal manufacturing regulations that often require it, particularly since most fabrics these days are synthetic and particularly quick to burn.
When I looked into flame retardant chemicals further, I learned that, while they had come a long way from the proven carcinogenic PBDEs of the 70s, these new chemicals were still linked to reproductive and respiratory disease, and were proven endocrine system disruptors.
As I looked at crib sheets and onesies, the reality of that set in â these fabrics would be right up against my brand new babyâs face.
pesticide exposure in our clothes and bedding
When I had officially written polyester and nylon off, it occurred to me that natural fibers, at the very least, had to be better. They werenât made of petroleum products, and they didnât require as much, or sometimes any, flame retardants to be safe to use.
What I didnât realize at the time was that conventionally grown cotton consumes 24% of the worldâs insecticides every year, and 11% of the worldâs pesticides. Ironically, this fluffy, pure white plant was one of the dirtiest crops in the world.
Cotton and other fibers go through a lot of processes before they wind up hanging on store racks, but were they being adequately rinsed of pesticides? In a world bent on reassuring us of their safety, I wasnât so sure.
stripping toxic chemicals from fabric
All of this information lead me to one conclusion â I was about to start taking my new clothes routine a lot more seriously. The bottom line was, Iâd rather take my chances with fire than flame retardants, and so I started stripping all of our sheets, clothes, and towels.
There isnât much scientific research out there to back up how to remove flame retardants and pesticides from clothes, but ultimately, my research seemed to point towards breaking down those chemical bonds with what was essentially an acid soak.
I mixed up big buckets of vinegar and lemon juice to break down the chemical bonds between the flame retardants and the fibers. I donât know how much it helped, but it gave me peace of mind to see that water change colors. For 48 hours, I soaked buckets of fabrics, then washed them thoroughly, hoping to make the best with what I had.
Itâs worth noting though that removing flame retardant chemicals from flammable materials is a catch-22. On the one hand, I felt better about snuggling up next to these fabrics, but on the other, I was trading chemicals for an increased flammability.
Which was worse? Iâm still not sure.
the alternatives i canât live without
I decided I didnât want to have to keep making these choices.
I decided, from here on out, my family would spend one third of their life in bed next to cotton sheets that werenât grown with pesticides. They would sleep in pajamas that didnât have to be saturated with chemicals to keep them from bursting into flames. And we would support clean, sustainable agriculture that didnât endlessly consume our planetâs resources.
I didnât throw everything out and start from scratch. Even as I write this, Iâm sitting in an ancient black polyester spandex tank top. Not being of celebrity wealth status, replacing my entire wardrobe and linens collection all at once just wasnât in the cards, nor was it how I wanted to do this.
What I did instead was start looking at alternatives, so that when it came time to replace those hole-y socks or those threadbare sheets, I could do so with materials I felt great about buying.
ORGANIC COTTON
Soft and breathable and made 100% without pesticides or insecticides, organic cotton is my go-to fabric for sheets and pillowcases, in addition to socks, underwear, and shirts. Itâs easy to care for, and getting cheaper all the time.
WOOL
Wool is a natural insulator, which doesnât just mean that it keeps you warm, but keeps excess heat out, too. Naturally antimicrobial, itâs worth the extra trouble to treat it delicately in the wash, and I LOVE it for duvets and shirts!
NATURAL LATEX
Memory foam, move over, because your eco-friendly buddy is here, and he doesnât stink. Natural latex is a natural thermal regulator, so it doesnât make you sweat like a memory foam mattress does, it lasts longer, and itâs free of flame retardant nasties. If you like the floating-on-a-cloud effect of sleeping on a memory foam mattress, you need to try a latex mattressâyouâll never look back!
KAPOK FIBER
This interesting little fiber feels like silk and cotton had a baby together. Soft and fine, itâs a great vegan alternative to down for pillows and duvets!
BUCKWHEAT HULLS
I discovered buckwheat hulls when I met a girl who slept on a buckwheat hull mattress, and it blew my MIND. They feel like a beanbag when stuffed into a pillowcase, and are incredible because theyâre non-toxic AND 100% biodegradable.
weâre all just doing the best we can
I get a lot of funny looks from friends and family when I pass up crazy sales on sheets and baby clothes because of what theyâre made of.
âHuh? Whaâ. ButâŚitâs on sale!â
And I get it, because in the end, weâre all just trying to keep our families clothed and our beds made, and what theyâre actually made of is often the furthest thing from our minds.
Iâm not perfect. Sometimes I see an ugly Christmas sweater at Target, and I lose all resolve â retail instinct kicks in, and before I know it, Iâm on my way home with a tinsel-covered abomination.
But now that I know better, I try to do better. I only buy organic sheets. Iâm really picky about the clothes I buy for my family. And when I shop, I look at more than just the price tag. I see the manufacturing plants that were responsible for producing what Iâm putting in my cart, and I take pause, I think about what that purchase means a little more before I make it.
If youâre ready to know whatâs in your sheets and feel good about what you sleep on, check out White Lotus Home. Organic sheets, mattresses, and pillows for babies, kids, adults, and even futons, this store has it all!
