Sleep Tight, Don’t Let The Toxins Bite

At night, while tucking your sweet kids into bed, toxins are probably the last thing on your mind as you kiss them goodnight. Unfortunately, this is yet one more area that they’ve invaded our lives. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) children’s sleepwear flammability standards require that all kids’ sleepwear between size 9 months and size 14 resist an open flame for at least three seconds. If the garment fails this flammability test, it must be treated for flame resistance.

According to HealthyChild.org, chemicals are used such as tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride, a.k.a. “Proban” or “Securest.” This popular treatment has been linked to a variety of health effects including genetic changes, cancer promotion, and liver and nervous system damage. Before you throw away all of your kiddo’s PJ’s, please know that close fitting cotton pajamas meet the standard without chemicals and are your safest bet. Occasionally, the fabric is treated before production and therefore it wouldn’t be disclosed. For the most part, you can look on the tag or label for the information. Avoid any flame resistant pajamas.

As a rule of thumb, you want to look for a sign like this:

NOT this (bad, very bad):

I wanted to check a couple of my favorite brands, to be sure they were safe.

Cotton jammies from Baby Gap are a staple around here. I contacted customer service and here’s what Gap had to say:

“Thank you for your interest in Gap. Recently you contacted us with a question that required additional research. After looking into it for you, we were able to learn that while most of our sleepwear is snug fitting; we do have some that are flame resistant. We use spun or textured Polyester thread that is resistant to catching on fire. Be assured that we do not use chemicals.” 

I also love Hannah Anderson, which offers many organic options. According to their site:

 Over 60% of all hannas are Oeko-Tex
Standard 100 certified, which means
they’re tested down to the very last
strand of thread for over 100 harmful
substances, using strict European
certification standards. We agree with
the fan who said, “Oeko-Tex 100 equals
100 fewer things to worry about!”

For a more budget option, I contacted H&M, which actually has several organic options. Their response:

“H&M does not use flame resistant chemicals in our clothes. We make sure our garments and product are safe and free from harmful chemicals. There are several regulations that must be abided by when in production.”

 Recently, a EWG-Duke Study found five times as much cancer-causing fire retardant in children as mothers. While they theorize most of this is due to exposure from The flame retardants in furniture (particularly furniture containing foam filling) and electronics, all of the exposure adds up in children’s little bodies. So be sure to choose safe pajamas at bedtime and tuck your children in safe and sound.