How do dyes in clothes affect our bodies?

Although most of us are pretty careful about what we put inside our bodies, we don’t pay much attention to what we put on our bodies. One such thing which most of us have probably never given a second thought about are dyes in our clothing. Those coloring agents which lend your clothes those vibrant colors? Most of them are probably not very good for you or the environment. Let's see why.

Are clothing dyes toxic?

Although not all clothing dyes are toxic, there are a fair few that are. A group of dyes called Azo dyes are commonly used to dye cloth. These dyes contain concentrations of p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) which can cause skin allergies and dermatitis. The highest concentrations of Azo dyes are seen in brown and black colors. These dyes are water-soluble which makes it easy to enter the water stream when you wash your clothes and also to pass easily into your skin. This may cause symptoms including skin and eye irritation. Some dyes also use pigments that contain mercury. Mercury is well-known as a notorious element that can be harmful to the skin and also cause organ damage.

What are plant dyes?

With the advent of the fast-fashion age, textile dyes have been showing their presence in water bodies and have started to significantly impair the quality of water bodies. Over 70% of China's water bodies were found to have been contaminated with 2.5 billion gallons of wastewater from the textile and dye industry. Dyes in the water stream increase biological and chemical oxygen demand and may promote toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity. They are also detrimental to marine life. This toxic waste finds its way to us by way of domestic water consumption harming communities near garment factories.

How do Clothing Dyes impact us?

Our skin is the largest organ in our body. As our skin has pores, these chemicals can easily be absorbed and cause serious health problems. Some toxic dyes used to color clothes can also cause symptoms in many parts of the body such as airways and lungs, blood, eyes, ears, nose, throat, gastrointestinal system, heart, and skin.

What are plant dyes?