The dangers are real! - Conventional cotton production uses approx 25 percent
of the world’s insecticides and over 10 percent of the pesticides. Your average
T-shirt may even have formaldehyde in it to prevent creasing. In addition, standard
printing inks used in screen printing contaminate the environment with 1.5 million
gallons of plastisol a year. Plastisol contains PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which
releases dioxins, one of the most toxic and carcinogenic chemicals known to science.
It is a grave concern to the world that such socially irresponsible environmental
practices are utilized in the world today. The health risks of the intensive use
of toxic chemicals to grow cotton and to print images onto apparel stretch from
the farmers, to manufacturing plant workers, to the consumer.
* Pesticide use is suspected of causing 8000 deaths per year and being carcinogenic
thereby causing countless diseases. *
Women who have worked on farms are almost three times more likely to develop breast
cancer than those who have never worked in agriculture, a new study of cancer
patients in the Windsor area suggests. (link) *
In 1999, the federal government measured dioxins in blood samples taken from 28
residents who lived near PVC facilities in Louisiana. The testing revealed the
average resident has three times more dioxin in his/her blood than the average
U.S. citizen. Workers at PVC plants may face life-long health risks from exposure
to cancer-causing vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals used to make PVC.
These health risks include angiosarcoma of the liver, lung cancer, brain cancer,
lymphomas, leukemia, and liver cirrhosis.
* PVC’s health risks can reach consumers and children through printing on diapers,
bottles, bibs, shirts, skirts, lingerie, shoes, and more. *
As much as 7 billion pounds of PVC are discarded every year in the U.S.
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