Green Baby Outlet Blog

Flame Resistance Sleep Wear is this the right choice?

March 8, 2010

When it comes to baby clothing , we need to be more aware of what we are putting on our babies. I must admit that I didn’t paid that much attention to cloths with my elder one but over the years I have become conscious of what my kids are wearing. Conventional baby sleep wear are mostly flame retardant, and is clearly marked on the tag. This might not be the right choice for baby sleepwear.

Common Sleepwear Fabric:

Polyester:

Polyester is considered to be “inherently” flame resistant. Flame retardants are actually chemically inserted during the manufacturing process and become part of the molecular composition of the fabric. The resulting polymer is very stable, so there is very little chance that any chemicals could be released from the garment.

The thing to keep in mind is that polyester is synthetic and clothes made from polyester fabric does not breathe and can thus contribute to overheating and rashes. Keep in mind its just like plastic and overheating can leach the chemical into the skin. You may also want to consider the fact that polyester has a negative impact on the environment, releasing nitrogen and sulphur dioxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and heavy metals.

Treated Cotton:

Cotton is a natural fiber and has no flame resistance capabilities, but rather can be flame pron. Most of the sleepwear is made up of cotton that is treated with flame resistance during the manufacturing process. Most of the companies are using a treatment called PROBAN, which is made from the chemical tetrakis hydromethyl phosphonium chlorida (THPC) and added to the garment in the finishing stages. During the process, the flame retardant molecules penetrate the cotton fibers. The fabric is then dried and cured, which causes a water insoluble polymer to form, essentially trapped inside the core of each fiber. The THPC used in the process has been linked to genetic abnormalities as well as damage to the liver, nervous system and skin. Due to the potentially dangerous nature of these chemicals, questions arise about the safety of the manufacturing process and there has been no monitoring of environmental exposure. Another Chemical called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE is also used for the same purpose in flame retardant clothing. PBDE’ at critical points in development can damage reproductivesystems and cause defecits in motor skills,learning, memory and hearing, as well as changes in behaviour.

Alternatives:

If no one in your house smokes and your kids aren’t laying around the fire place in their pj’s, why expose them to the chemicals.

Choose 100% cotton pajamas that are labeled “wear snug fitting” meet CPSC guidelines if they are snug fitting.

For winter times if its cold in the house just get fleece ‘’sweat” type clothes and have your kids sleep in them with long-johns and warm socks.

Although Organic cotton sleep wears seems to be the appropriate choice , but can be expensive so try these alternatives and let me know what you think!

Share on Facebookthis is a test

Filed under: Posts