If you are sleeping on bed sheets that are not organic, then every night your body is absorbing an assortment of carcinogenic chemicals such as formaldehyde, bleach, ammonia, and heavy metals through your skin and lungs. This burden of chemicals will accumulate in your body for years until your body is no longer able to deal with it, and disease will result.
An estimated 8000 chemicals are used to transform raw materials into fabric. “Often, the clippings from fabric mills are so loaded with dangerous chemicals they are handled like toxic waste,” states German Chemist Michael Braungart, “while the products made from these materials are considered safe for use in the home.” Do we really want to be wrapped in sheets saturated with dangerous chemicals for 8 hours every night when we go to sleep?
Cotton is the most pesticide dependent crop grown anywhere in the world, and even more toxic chemicals are added to it at each stage of its production. Many of these toxins have been linked to a range of health problems including allergies, asthma, insomnia, immune disorders, Cancer, and neurological disorders.
Let’s look at some of the other harsh chemicals added to fabric, in addition to the pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Chemicals Added to Produce Conventional Cotton Fabric
Formaldehyde
Heavy Metals
Softeners
Bleaches
Harsh Petroleum Scours
Ammonia
Chemical Dyes
Flame Retardants
Does Washing Eliminate Chemicals from Fabric?
As author Brian R. Clement, PhD, NMD, LN and his wife Anna Maria Celement, PhD, NMD, LN write in their book Killer Clothes, “As clothes containing these chemicals become worn with repeated washings and wear, the chemicals migrate from the fabric and become particles that can be absorbed or inhaled.”
Take formaldehyde for example. There are two types of formaldehyde in fabrics: Free and bound. The ‘Free’ type of formaldehyde is that which is not bound to fibers, and the ‘Bound’ type is formaldehyde is bound to fibers.
In 1999, a team of Japanese scientists measured the quantity of free formaldehyde in twenty-seven noniron shirts, before and after washing and drying, everyday for six months. Before the 6 months of washing, about one-third of these shirts contained between 75ppm and 202ppm of free formaldehyde. After the 6 months of washing, the quantity of free formaldehyde in twelve of the shirts still exceeded 75pm, which means that bound formaldehyde in the fabric had continued to leach out over time. 3
Formaldehyde has been declared a carcinogen by the United States Government and yet it is still added to fabrics that come in contact with our skin everyday. When fabric that is not organic rests against human skin, chemicals within it are absorbed through the pores of the skin, and through the lungs.
Chemicals Absorbed Through Skin and Lungs
Here’s a study showing that our skin readily absorbs the chemicals from the fabric that touches it:
Study: Morning Urine Samples were taken from ten children who wore either pajamas newly treated with a flame-retardant chemical brominated Tris, or older pajamas treated with brominated Tris but washed numerous times. Residue of brominated Tris was found in every urine sample tested. In a separate study, researchers were shocked to find that the total brominated Tris in a fabric only decreased from 5.8% to 5.1% of weight after more than fifty washings of the fabric! 1, 2
Thankfully, we have a beautiful solution to eliminate yet another potent source of chemicals from entering into our bodies!
Top 7 Reasons to Upgrade to Organic Bedding_
1. No Chemical Absorbtion – Organic Fabrics are produced without the use of chemicals, so you no longer have to worry about absorbing carcinogenic chemicals into your body.
2. Heals the Environment – Organic Fabric reduces pesticide and other chemical use, and thereby helps to protect the environment.
3. Non-Genetically Modified – Unlike regular cotton, organic cotton is grown from Non-Genetically Modified cotton. This means that every time you buy organic, you’re saying ‘No!’ to GMO’s and contributing to the termination of Monsanto, a company who has created a genetically modified version of cotton that is used in conventional cotton fabric.
4. Protects Farm Workers – Organic Cotton protects farm workers from being exposed to chemicals while farming the cotton crop.
5. Longer Lasting – Because organic fibers are not degraded by chemicals during growing and processing, organic clothing is sturdier and lasts much longer.
6. More Comfortable – Organic cotton fabric feels more comfortable to wear than conventional cotton because it is not treated with harsh chemicals during processing.
7. Sustainable – While non-organic fibers don’t biodegrade and accumulate in landfills, organic fibers are recyclable and completely biodegradable. Buying Organic Bedding supports a more sustainable future.
Bedroom Upgrade #2: Organic Bedding
Organic cotton fabric is made from non-genetically modified cotton, without the use of pesticides, and is produced using methods that are not damaging to human health or the environment. Safer methods of cultivation such as crop rotation, physical removal of weeds instead of using herbicides, hand hoeing, and the introduction of beneficial insects such as ladybugs to counteract pests are employed. The resulting fabric is free of all toxins and feels soft against your skin.
It gets better!
Conventionally produced cotton material may only last 10-20 washes before it begins to break down. Because organic cotton is not grown or processed using harsh chemicals, the fabric is much stronger and can last for one hundred washes or more before it begins to show wear.
The first night that I used organic cotton sheets I noticed a significant improvement in my sleep . Whether my new organic cotton sheets were the reason for this particular night’s sleep, I will never know for sure, but what I do know is that when your body doesn’t constantly have to battle a constant onslaught of toxins, it can be at rest and use that resting period to heal instead of using up all of its resources to eliminate chemicals. With chemicals like formaldehyde, carcinogenic petroleum based dyes, bleaches and others all making their way into your bloodstream, there’s no way you can get a truly restful night’s sleep, not to mention the diseased state that will result in time from this abuse.
Sleep is the most important time for your body to heal and regenerate itself, so sleeping on non-toxic sheets will permit a truly restful, regenerative night’s sleep. It is one of the most vital upgrades you can make to prevent or reverse disease.
Studies Cited:
1,2. Blum, A, Gold, MD, and Ames, BN. Children Absorb Tris-BP Flame Retardant from Sleepwear: Urine Contains the Mutagenic Metabolite, 2,3-Dibromopropanol. Science. September 15, 1978;201:1020-23.
3. Masahiko, I. et al. Changes of Free Formaldehyde Quantity in Non-Iron Shirts by Washing and Storage. Journal of Health Science. 1999;45:412-17
Are Your Bed Sheets Poisoning You While You Sleep? | EndAllDisease.comEndAllDisease.com.
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