The fabric in some ‘fast fashion’ discount clothing contains levels of lead that surpass safe limits set by the US government, according to preliminary research by chemists at Marian University in Indiana, US. The team, led by environmental chemist Kamila Deavers, presented their as-yet unpublished findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta, Georgia on 23 March.
Deavers became interested in studying lead contamination more than 15 years ago when a routine blood test revealed that her then-two-year-old daughter had high levels of the toxic metal in her blood. Deavers was able to trace this back to lead coatings on her toys. ‘I just went home, cleaned up everything and threw all the plastic and colourful toys like rubber duckies,’ she recounts. When her daughter’s lead blood levels were retested about two weeks later, they were in the normal range, says Deavers.
Her team, which includes undergraduate researchers Cristina Avello and Priscila Espinoza, ordered clothing for children aged six years and under from four different fast fashion and discount clothing retailers. The researchers then tested the amount of lead in 12 t-shirts of various colours by cutting them up into three different sections – the sleeves, logo and remaining garment scraps. ‘This was to ensure consistency and accuracy,’ Avello explains. ‘We weren’t sure if logos could have more or less lead, and we didn’t want any of that to impact our results.’
Initial screening of these garments, which were made in a range of countries, was carried out with x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, followed by quantitative analysis with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. It turned out that all samples exceeded the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s allowable limit for lead of 100 parts per million. The researchers found that across all clothing brands it was the most brightly coloured fabrics, including some that were red and yellow, that generally contained higher amounts of lead.
The team also carried out tests to estimate the maximum amount of lead accessible for absorption within gastric acid to simulate digestion. They calculated potential lead exposure and absorption from these clothing items during typical behaviours in young children that include sucking or chewing on fabric, using US Environmental Protection Agency standards to mimic potential lead transfer.
The findings suggest that exposure would exceed the daily lead ingestion limit for children, a safety benchmark set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at 2.2μg per day. Two of the garments surpassed this level dramatically, including one t-shirt that had a lead level that was more than twice as high as the FDA standard. And Deavers says these calculations are likely conservative. ‘That’s very concerning,’ she states.
In terms of how this lead is getting into these garments, the researchers point to the use of mordants to fix dyes and pigments onto the textile. They also suggest that cross-contamination could be occurring with the introduction of additives and other stabilisers during the manufacturing process.
Lead(II) acetate has been used as a mordant for long time, but Deavers emphasises that safer alternatives already exist to secure dyes to fabrics and keep them vibrant. These include natural mordants that can be extracted from plants with high tannin contents like oak bark and pomegranate peel.
However, Deavers notes that it will be expensive to bring such a change to the clothing industry and she says pressure from consumers or governments will be required. Her main goal is to expose the potential risks of lead exposure from cheap children’s garments and then educate parents, as well as consumers.
‘Many parents are not aware, and so many are buying fast fashion clothing,’ Deavers tells Chemistry World. She wants to empower them to make informed decisions when dressing their children.
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