Warning over harmful chemicals found in online clothing products

Items flagged by the researchers as having elevated levels of chemicals included a children's tutu dress, a children's dress featuring the character of Elsa from the popular animated movie Frozen, a red purse, and a set of plastic bibs. Picture: iStock

People who buy so-called 'fast fashion' products from online retailers outside Europe may be exposing themselves to potentially harmful chemicals, according to new research.

As part of a recent investigation conducted by Marketplace, a Canadian consumer advocacy TV programme, chemists took samples from 38 items of children's, adult, and maternity clothes and accessories purchased from Chinese online retailers.

One-in-five were found to have elevated levels of potentially harmful chemicals such as lead, phthalates, and per-and poly-fluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) - a large group of man-made chemicals.

One particular item, a jacket for toddlers, was found to contain nearly 20 times the amount of lead that the Government of Canada’s Department of Health recommends.

Online retailers, particularly those based outside Europe in places like China, offer thousands of items of clothing for adults and children at incredibly low prices, even when the cost of shipping is taken into account.

As such, they have seen their popularity skyrocket in recent years.

However, these sites often sell products from third-party suppliers meaning there can often be little regulatory oversight.

PFAs

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PFAs have been used in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s due to their physical and chemical properties. 

These properties include water and oil resistance, chemical and heat stability, friction reduction and surface tension lowering.

Aside from textiles, they can be found in many everyday products like paints, food packaging, photographic coatings, and non-stick coatings on cookware.

Several types of PFAs are considered ‘forever chemicals’ given that they cannot be flushed from the human body or broken down naturally in the environment.

They have also been shown to cause a host of health conditions, including cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, reproductive disorders, hormonal disruption (also known as endocrine disruption) and an overall weakening of the immune system.

Child's raincoat

One particular item tested by the Canadian researchers, a child's raincoat, was found to have "concerning" levels of PFAs.

Other items flagged by the researchers included a children's tutu dress, a children's dress featuring the character of Elsa from the popular animated movie Frozen, a red purse, and a set of plastic bibs. All displayed elevated levels of phthalates.

From February 2023, the European Union (EU) will ban more than 200 PFAs substances on a phased basis. The move is the result of a 2017 proposal from the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) which highlighted the harmful effects PFAs have on human health.

Several groups, including the NGO Voice Ireland, have called on the Government to advocate for and support the EU's plan to ban all non-essential use of PFAS, and to conduct more research on the direct effect that PFA exposure can have on humans.

"I'm alarmed because we're buying what looks cute and fashionable on this incredibly short fashion cycle,” said Miriam Diamond, an environmental chemist and professor at the University of Toronto and one of the researchers involved in the Marketplace investigation.

"That cost is not worth it."