The research
Know your fabric
Short reads, two minutes each, on what's actually in your closet. No scaremongering, no jargon. Just what the research says and what to do about it.
Little Ones
6 articlesYour baby's skin is not a smaller version of yours
Infant skin is thinner, absorbs faster, and spends 16 to 20 hours a day in fabric. What that means when you're choosing clothes.
Read →The pajama tradeoff every parent makes
US sleepwear rules force a choice between snug fit and flame-retardant treatment. The tight cotton pajamas are the low-chemical route.
Read →Wash it before they wear it
A first wash removes finishing-chemical residue from new baby clothes. It can't remove what's woven in, and that matters too.
Read →Dressing a child with eczema
Eczema guidance says 100% cotton, but 41% of fibre labels tested were wrong. How to choose clothes when the label is only a claim.
Read →One in four baby garments gets the label wrong
EU surveillance testing found 25% of baby clothing mislabelled. What that means if you chose cotton on purpose.
Read →The quiet economics of a well-made hand-me-down
Pilling and fading kill most garments early. One well-made sleeper through three kids beats three cheap ones on cost and on skin.
Read →What's In The Fabric
6 articlesThree words on the label, thousands behind it
A care label names the fibre and nothing else. Roughly 8,000 manufacturing chemicals never make it onto the tag.
Read →Why your wrinkle-free shirt never creases
The convenience of a no-iron shirt often comes from a formaldehyde resin, and baby-clothing limits are nearly five times stricter.
Read →Forever is a long time for a pair of leggings
PFAS finishes turned up in about two-thirds of tested sports bras and 65% of stain-resistant kids' clothing. The law is catching up.
Read →What a sports bra taught us about polyester
Lab testing found BPA in polyester-spandex activewear at up to 22 times California's safe dermal limit, and none in cotton, wool or linen.
Read →The price of a brighter colour
Azo dyes account for 60-70% of textile colour. Most are fine. The EU has banned 22 of them for what they break down into.
Read →Sweat changes the math
Chemical exposure limits assume dry skin. A 2025 study found sweat can raise PFAS transfer through skin by up to 3,000 times.
Read →Labels & Trust
6 articlesThe 41% problem
Two large studies found fabric labels wrong in 37-41% of cases. What mislabelling is, why it persists, and what verification means.
Read →Blends are where labels go wrong
Cotton-poly labels test accurate only 23% of the time, and the errors lean the seller's way. Single-fibre garments are the safer bet.
Read →How to read a fabric label in 30 seconds
The fibre line, four red flags, and why online listings fail lab tests more often than store racks. Thirty seconds, start to finish.
Read →A logo without a number means nothing
OEKO-TEX and GOTS come with numbers you can check for free. A logo without a certificate number is marketing, not proof.
Read →Why your clothes wear out faster than they used to
Pilling and colour fading retire more garments than rips or broken seams. The fibre line predicts both before you buy.
Read →One load of laundry, 700,000 plastic fibres
A single wash of synthetics can release 700,000 plastic microfibres. What sheds, what doesn't, and the habits that cut the number.
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