Honestly, we feel confident putting our own children in them. Unless you have a ton of flammable objects that your young children access without your direct supervision, we feel like the known consequences of exposure to these chemicals outweighs the risk of your child catching fire.
In fact, pajamas are the garment that got the most attention because young children were thought to be getting their hands on these lighters and matches in the early morning hours while their parents were still asleep.
What are the health impacts of fire-retardant chemicals in pajamas? A study published in August found that PBDEs polybrominated diphenyl ethers , the most commonly used fire-retardant chemicals, were linked to numerous health problems including thyroid disruption, early onset of puberty, cognitive problems, and delayed mental and physical development.
Thyroid disruption is a pretty big deal. Just think about how many hours your children spend in their pajamas. PBDEs, too, were banned at the federal level in , but their presence in the environment and in older consumer products continues to be a public health concern.
Fortunately, Stapleton says, progress has been made. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health monitor new flame retardants and continue to gather studies on the adverse effects of older chemicals.
And a dozen U. One study of mother-child pairs found the chemical present in every child tested. Most flame retardants are structurally similar to thyroid hormone chemicals, and can easily interact with the thyroid hormone. Studies have found strong associations between exposure to flame retardants and thyroid disorders, as well as poor performance on neurodevelopmental tests and reductions in fertility.
Not that there appears to be any safe flame retardant on the market. Other work has linked a variety of flame retardant chemicals to infertility in women and decreases in male reproductive hormone. Better to avoid unnecessary usage of materials with flame retardants. Whether flame retardants actually prevent fires and save lives is a subject of fierce controversy. On one hand, the American Chemistry Council and other industry groups maintain that flame retardants are necessary and effective. You now have 10 to 15 minutes to get out.
I have seen the same kind of reports for the fires that are typical in our homes. Flame retardant chemicals may even make some fires worse. Since flame retardant chemicals are often found in dust around the home, the simplest steps parents can take to cut down exposure is mopping and vacuuming regularly sweeping just moves the dust around , ensuring that all family members wash their hands before they eat, and checking labels before buying mattresses and car seats.
In many cases, manufacturers are proud to clarify that they do not use flame retardants. If you are particularly concerned, Duke University offers a free testing service to detect flame retardants in furniture. A lot of it is a waiting game. Until then, Woodruff suggests parents temper their flame retardant fears, if only a little.
But we do have a problem and, at the same time, kids are generally healthy and there are a lot of things you can do to help them be resilient. Not everyone was happy with this, and Congress required more scrutiny. From through , the CPSC collected information on child clothing-related burn injuries. What does this mean?
The standards were relaxed and nothing bad happened. Again, the world has changed enough that perhaps this is outdated legislation. I have trained myself that anything fuzzy and comfy looking is surely full of toxic flame-resistant chemicals, but something new is happening. I thought this was ironic, opening a gun in non-flame-retardant pajamas…clearly, we allow our kids an element of physical risk in our goal to raise healthy, independent adults!
They said:. Fabric that melts instead of burns will adhere to your skin in a pretty serious way. One of our contributing writers, Becca, shared this anecdotal story. Polyester will melt rather than burn. That does NOT make it safe! It took some digging before I could figure out that polyester was actually exempt from using fire-retardant chemicals.
I figured microfleece had some special magical qualities that allowed it not to need flame-retardant chemicals. I found lots of conflicting sources. For example, Wise Geek says that microfleece is one of the most flammable clothing materials and also especially susceptible to pilling and tears. Robe Mart claims that microfleece is not prone to pilling at all.
Then again, they are trying to sell some robes. Our Everyday Life explains that synthetics like polyester are considered fire-resistant because they melt rather than ignite. Our Everyday Life points out that the melting fabric still causes burns on the skin. And just to make it all the more confusing, Jason Mills, where they produce various fabrics, explains,. Nylon and polyester are both flammable, but each reacts differently to fire: nylon melts before burning, whereas polyester melts and burns at the same time.
Polyester has a higher flammability temperature than type 6 nylon, so it catches fire less easily. Perhaps the root cause, removing open flames touching our children, is the way to go here rather than worrying quite so much about what they are wearing. Seeing the piece of PET that includes phthalate made me immediately think of this interview with Laura Adler. Adler is an environmental toxins expert and explained in great detail the endocrine-disrupting qualities of phthalates.
That made me think, do I really want my kids sleeping in what amounts to plastic? Besides that, every time we wash something made of polyester, tiny pieces of plastic get into the water supply. I recently learned that what we have all pictured as an island of plastic the size of Texas, most likely made up largely of straws if you lived through the great straw removal in restaurants , is actually more like a cloud of microplastics smog.
As I said before, in the ideal world we could all choose organic fabrics. If a company is worth their salt, they will assure you that they are not using flame-retardant chemicals. Anytime we make assumptions, we run the risk of making mistakes. For example, I think a lot of people have this warm, fuzzy feeling about Hanna Andersson brand.
Many assume that Hanna Andersson pajamas are all organic. Two, sign up for Rakuten and get a few more percent back on each purchase. Click here to get looped in. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. Busy moms look to this certified educator for honest, in-depth natural product reviews and thorough research. In she created the 1 bestselling online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook.
See all blog posts by Katie Kimball. A chemical engineer and mother told me second hand, like hand me downs, are less likely to still be offgassing.
Thrifting FTW. The exposure will continue to lessen over time though. I definitely consider that a benefit of hand-me-downs or buying second-hand though.
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