STOP RE-TOXING!

You are all about loving yourself and being kind to our planet. You care about your wellbeing; looking after your body, mind, and soul. You eat well, drink lots of water, and work out often. 

You care about what you put IN your body – are you as careful about what you put ON it?

Your synthetic yoga gear is harming your body!

You have dreams and aspirations for a long, healthy life. It feels so good to be alive and to be treating yourself well. However one of your ‘healthiest’ activities might be slowly poisoning you.

Are There Toxins in my Yoga Gear?   

Yes, if you are wearing synthetic fabrics there most certainly are. Even natural fibers like cotton and wool have been treated with herbicides and pesticides which are highly toxic (unless the fibers are certified organic). Very few of the dyes that are used to color mass-produced clothing are natural – they’re chemical, and most chemicals have harmful side effects. 

If you like buying yoga wear that is wrinkle-, stain-, odor-, and water-resistant we can guarantee that they were made that way using chemicals. Another truth is that all synthetic fibers are manufactures using some sort of chemical processing.

To put it quite simply, If you insist on wearing synthetic fibers you may as well wrap your body in plastic before you do yoga (and we all know how toxic plastic is!).

The food you buy has the ingredients listed on the packaging so that you can make informed decisions; however, the fashion industry isn’t required to disclose the ‘ingredients’ that go into the manufacture of their clothing.  

Here is a quick list of a few of the chemicals that are used in clothing manufacture:

• Conventional cotton farming accounts for 25% of the pesticides used worldwide.
• Polyester, nylon, acrylic, acetate, and triacetate are made with Petrochemicals.
• New clothing is sprayed with formaldehyde to prevent wrinkling and mildew during shipping.
• Weatherproof clothing is made using Perfluorocarbon (PFC).
• Workout gear that promises anti-odor and anti-bacterial properties contains triclosan, nanoparticle silver, and phthalates.
• Black clothing and denim contain Phenylenediamine (PPD).
• Leather goods are tanned using chromium.

Are the Chemicals in my Yoga Gear Harmful?

Yes, they are! Take a look at this table and you will see the harmful effects of the various chemicals on your body:

“The good news is that by being more aware of what we are putting on our bodies, we can reduce exposure to unhealthy compounds.” Source Quote.

Real-life example:
Emily is a healthy, organic eating young woman who regularly does yoga in Spandex (aka Lycra or Lycra Spandex) yoga wear. Despite all her efforts to be in prime health, Emily has dermatitis. Why? Her yoga gear is poisoning her system! 

Spandex has been around since 1958. It is a synthetic fiber made of at least 85% polyurethane and is manufactured using chemicals that are known sensitizers. Among these toxic chemicals are TDI and MDI (Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate; Methylene bisphenol-4,4-diisocyanate). TDI has proved carcinogenic and can cause severe dermatitis.

Are the Chemicals in my Yoga Gear Harming the Environment?

Once again, the answer is YES!

“The fashion industry is the second-largest polluter in the world.” Source Quote.

Two of the largest environmental concerns involve one of Earth’s most precious resources – Water.

• The fabric manufacturing industry dumps untreated wastewater directly into rivers or the ocean.
• The fabric manufacturing industry uses huge amounts of water for the dyeing of fabric. (Up to 200 tons of fresh water per ton of dyed fabric!)

Not to forget the people who are employed in the fabric manufacturing industry. They are exposed to these harmful chemicals first-hand and the negative effects on their health include respiratory problems because of the fumes, dermatological issues caused by handling the chemicals, and a variety of internal conditions that include several types of cancer as well liver and kidney problems.

How are the Chemicals in my Yoga Gear Harming Me?

Your skin needs to breathe.
Your skin is absorbent.

Sweating (better known to women as 'Sparkling') is meant to expel toxins through your sweat glands, but if you are wearing the wrong yoga gear it can either inhibit the release of toxins (because your skin can't breathe) or absorb the toxins from your clothes (because your skin is absorbent). 

Picture yourself in a hot yoga class; your core body temperature is being elevated and your (supposed-to-be-detox) sweating is actually accelerating the absorption of residual chemicals from the dyes and toxic fibers you are wearing resulting in re-toxing!

What Shall I Wear? (That Isn’t Trying to Kill Me.)

Wherever possible choose natural and organic fibers.

Maybe you want to rush out and replace ALL the clothing in your wardrobe after reading this article, but, realistically, that will be very costly. Perhaps you can start by replacing a few items at a time until you have a completely safe, chemical-free, non-toxic wardrobe. 

We would suggest that you begin with the following:

• Your undies because you spend a lot of time in your underwear and it has the most intimate contact with the ‘hottest’ parts of your body resulting in the absorption of toxins in vital regions.
• Your stretchy, synthetic, tight-fitting active wear because you sweat in it. This causes the absorption of toxins from the chemical fibers, dyes and preservatives into your system through your skin.

Your future you will thank you!