Toxic Fashion

Packaged food items (obviously) have ingredients lists. Our favorite beauty products have ingredients lists. And those cleaning products under the kitchen sink? Yup, they’ve got ingredients lists, too.

Ever wonder why our clothes don’t have ingredients lists? While we’d *like* to think our favorite garments are made of woven fibers and nothing more, the sad truth is there are countless unregulated toxic chemicals in our closet go-tos (and these chemicals are likely harming our health).

On today’s show investigative journalist Alden Wicker explains why synthetic fashion and dyes made from fossil fuels are so deeply intertwined with the rise of autoimmune disease, infertility, asthma, eczema, and more; she also suggests concrete action steps for curating a clean(er) closet.

* The book we’re discussing today is our June Book Club selection. If you want in, please join us via Substack! https://sustainableminimalists.substack.com/

Here’s a preview:

[7:00] Uncovering the chemicals in our clothes and what they’re doing to our health

[10:30] Taking a special look at the especially problematic petrochemical-based azo dyes (often used on petrochemical-based fibers)

[17:00] If all this stuff is in our clothing, why don’t garments have ingredients lists?

[19:00] Carter’s, Victoria’s Secret, and victim body blaming

[31:00] Why ‘organic’ doesn’t mean much when it comes to clothing

[36:00] For subscribers! Action steps for curating a clean(er) closet

Resources mentioned:

• To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick — And How We Can Fight Back
• Plastic-Free Activewear? Here are 15 Brands That Use Natural Instead of Synthetic Fibers (via Eco Cult)
• The Best Non-Toxic Fashion Brands For Chemically Sensitive People (via Eco Cult)
• Future Card

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