I was looking for a new bathrobe because my old one, which is quite old, is still in storage and I wanted to be prepared for imminent cold weather. Much to my dismay, I could not find what I was looking for in the two stores where I searched. I found only one style that was made of cotton. Nearly everything in the stores these days seems to be made of polyester, rayon, lyocell, or various combinations of materials. One is hard pressed to find anything these days that is made of 100% cotton. Most of the denim currently on the market has spandex added. This may not be true for mens’ jeans. The modern fabrics are often rough to the touch, tend towards pilling, and are easily snagged. I do not like the feel of them and they do not last or wear as well as cotton.
In the 1970’s you could not find sleepwear for infants that were made of all cotton.The government had decided that all layettes be made with a fire retardant chemical added. These were rough and completely averse to the soft newness of a newborn baby’s skin.The flame retardant which was later added to baby furniture and other items, was eventually shown to be carcinogenic. Most baby sleepwear is now made of polyester, which is in itself often treated with flame retardants. The worst part about polyesters is that they are basically a form of common plastic and they do not breathe the way natural fibers do. I was fortunate in that when my babies were born, I received pure cotton nighties handed down from my sister. I acquired the habit of always reading the fabric content label sewn inside of garments. I never purchased anything for my children that was not cotton.
The passage of time always brings new information. The exposure of those companies that add toxic chemicals and dyes to their products has given way to a small group of people offering only 100% organic cotton clothing. This would be great news, but as is true with most things available in today’s markets, their products are cost-prohibitive to many. And worldwide, manufacturers of fabrics and clothes are still dumping high concentrations of chromium, copper, zinc, arsenic, and other substances into rivers, poisoning the water and killing fish. We began waking up to these atrocities more than sixty years ago, but the practises have not stopped. I wonder if the human race will ever place the well being of life, above that of corporate greed?
