Chemicals in Clothing: What Your Fabric Label Doesn’t Tell You

Grab a clothing item from your closet and have a peek at the label. You’ll probably see a few familiar words: cotton, polyester, elastane, wool. What you won’t see is everything that happened to those fibers before they became clothing.

Thousands of chemicals are used across the textile industry for dyeing, softening, bleaching, wrinkle prevention, water repellency, and many other purposes!

But before that number sends you running from your closet, there’s some important context: not every chemical used to make clothing remains in the finished garment.

What Chemicals Are Used to Make Clothing?

Chemicals in textile manufacturing serve many different purposes, and what happens to them depends on how they're used.

Some are processing chemicals used during manufacturing, and they’re mostly washed away. Others are designed to remain because they give the finished garment a particular feature.

These can include:

• Dyes that give clothing its color
• Water- and stain-resistant finishes
• Wrinkle-resistant treatments
• Fabric softeners
• Antimicrobial or odor-control treatments
• Optical brighteners

Sometimes it can be helpful to think about the features a garment promises. If a shirt is advertised as wrinkle-resistant or a jacket as water-repellent, something about the material or its treatment is creating that effect.

Do Natural Fabrics Have Fewer Chemicals?

“Natural” doesn’t necessarily mean a fabric hasn’t been chemically processed.

Cotton, linen, wool, and silk all undergo processing before becoming the clothes in your closet. They may be dyed, softened, treated for shrink resistance, or given other finishes depending on the garment.

But that doesn't make natural fibers a bad choice. It just means that fiber content and textile processing are two different things. If chemical processing is something you think about when shopping, certifications can provide additional information beyond the basic clothing label.

What Certifications Can You Look For?

Two certifications you might come across are OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests finished textile products against limits for a wide range of substances. GOTS includes requirements for processing qualifying organic textiles.

If a garment carries one of these certifications, look for its certificate or label number. You can verify that number through the certification organization's database rather than relying on the logo alone.

How Can You Learn More About What You’re Wearing?

Start with the information you can reasonably check.

Read the fiber label. Look up certifications when they're provided. If a particular treatment or finish matters to you, check the manufacturer's information or ask the brand.

And when you want to know whether the fiber content itself matches the label, that's where Lynen comes in. Lynen uses independent testing to help verify what garments are actually made of.

You shouldn't need a chemistry degree to buy a T-shirt. A little more information can simply help you make the choices that work best for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there chemicals in clothing?

Chemicals are used throughout textile manufacturing for purposes such as dyeing, softening, bleaching, and adding special finishes. However, not every chemical used during manufacturing remains in the finished garment.

Does washing new clothes remove chemicals?

Washing new clothing can remove some surface residues, but it won't necessarily remove dyes or functional finishes that are designed to remain in the fabric.

How can I check for chemicals in clothing?

A standard clothing label won't provide a complete chemical inventory. Look for independently verifiable certifications such as OEKO-TEX Standard 100 or GOTS, and check the certification number in the organization's database.