Which side of the chemical war are you on?

You might be living, eating and sleeping healthy, but are your textiles “healthy?” Any idea what we’re on about? If you don’t, you should be scared! If you do, but you don’t think it is important, you should rethink your position.

Ever thought about how often your skin is in contact with textiles? Probably not! But you should, because the answer is pretty much 24/7 – from the clothes we wear and the linen we sleep on, to the upholstery on chairs and the towels we use. This is why, safety in touching materials is so important: they might be soft, they might feel fine, but they could be full of harmful chemicals!

From the inks and dyes to auxiliaries used in the printing of apparel, there’s plenty of room for chemical invasion in the textiles production chain. The ones to watch out for? Perfluorinated chemicals (PFC), heavy metals and other substances containing carcinogenic chemicals or hormone disruptors  that pose long-term threats on the end-user. We bet you’re thinking about your fabrics differently now aren’t you?! 

Wise up and wipe out those harmful chemicals!

One way to get standards changed is by shouting about it. Greenpeace is among those calling out to the garment and textile supply chain to CLEAN UP its act through its ‘Detox’ campaign, which names and shames major brands that have let their environmental health and safety standards slip. Most recently, Greenpeace discovered that leading sports brands Adidas, Nike, and Puma contained hazardous chemicals in their sports kits ahead of the Fifa World Cup 2014! So, what does Greenpeace want? For the textiles industry to enforce stricter regulations. When do they want it? Now! And Kornit stands by this change too.

While Greenpeace is making the (much-needed) noise and encouraging activists, designers and bloggers to get involved in the campaign, of course there are the organisations that monitor and implement these industry standards. GOTS and Oeko-Tex are among those helping to path the way for a “healthy” (chemical-free) textile – and Kornit has been approved by both bodies. 

Our specially formulated NeoPigment™ water-based inks used in D2G and R2R digital print have been tested for hundreds of restricted substances in the fight to keep printed fabrics safe, soft, and chemical-free! It’s time to protect our skin and ensure printed textiles are safe for all end users.

You check your ingredients before you buy them so why not start checking what goes into the making of your fabrics too? Check out our new White Paper…Please Touch! Ensuring printed textiles are safe for all end-users.