When we are looking to reduce the toxic burden in our home environment people don’t usually think about their bedding or fabrics as toxic.
Many fabrics are treated with formaldehyde which is carcinogenic. The time that our body heals itself is when we sleep, but if we are sleeping on toxic chemicals our body loses that opportunity for healing. When looking to purchase bedding for your home follow these guidelines:
- Choose only 100% natural fibers to sleep in, including: cotton, linen, silk and wool. These allow your skin to breathe while naturally wicking moisture away from your body.
- Avoid synthetic fibers, like satin sheets for example, which may feel good to the touch but are treated with chemicals and do not allow your skin to breathe. They also create static electricity that affects the electro-climate of your bedroom.
- Avoid mixed/blended fibers. These might look and feel like cotton or silk, but often they’re mixed with synthetic fibers to improve the texture and reduce costs for the manufacturer.
- Avoid all chemically-treated sheets which bear the names:
- Anti-static
- Easy-care, wrinkle-free, or shrinkage-free—these garments release toxic formaldehyde3. Formaldehyde is a “complete carcinogen”, meaning it affects tumor cells at all stages of development 4, and has been linked to an increased risk of cancer of the nose and accessory sinuses, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer, and lung cancer in humans5. It also causes contact dermatitis which may present in either subtle or extreme skin flare ups.
The cost of natural bedding and 100% cotton can be expensive but as the demand rises the prices are going down. Boll and Branch is not one of the cheapest options for natural bedding but they have great products and the impact they have made in the lives of the farmer’s they support is worth every penny.