Have a question for Mom Detective? Submit it here.
FLORA IN ALASKA ASKS:
My kid will only wear fleece pajamas, and his room is full of fleece stuffies and blankets. It’s everywhere—we even have fleece pet toys! Is fleece safe? And if not, how do I even start de-fleecing my kid’s life?
MOM DETECTIVE ANSWERS:
Tussling with kids about clothing is a universal frustration. Once you’ve hit on what they’ll accept, it’s a big relief. I get it! Beyond sleepwear, fleece is useful for cold temperatures and athletics; it’s cozy, durable, and even water-resistant. This is why, as you say, it’s now everywhere.
While it may look comforting and adorably sheeplike, fleece is a synthetic fabric, made from fine polyester fibers. There are absolutely concerns to consider with synthetic fabrics. So let’s whip through those so you can determine what works for your family, Flora.
What’s polyester?
Polyester is a textile made from petroleum-derived ingredients, typically ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, plus others with similar-sounding names. These don’t mean a whole lot to me as I’m not a fabric expert, but the important takeaway here is that polyester is a plastic. Some polyester is even made from recycled plastic. As I try to minimize plastic in my life—and suggest in most of my Mom Detective columns that parents and caregivers also do their best to do the same—fleece is not my go-to fabric when buying new clothing. That doesn’t mean I don’t have any in my house! Some I bought before I knew better, or when my own kids begged successfully, but most are gifts from friends and family.
Tell Congress: Protect Families From the Plastics and Petrochemical Industry
Treating synthetic fabrics
Plastic is flammable. That means plastic fabrics are too, so they’re frequently treated with or contain flame-retardant chemicals to protect wearers from flammability. Flame-retardant chemicals may be associated with a whole host of health harms, including learning disorders, reduced fertility, thyroid disruption, and cancer. This is why I’m not a fan of fleece pajamas. Kids spend a lot of time in bed, more than adults, and I prefer this time to be flame-retardant free.
Polyester can also contain a number of other questionable dyes and finishing chemicals. These aren’t specifically listed on clothing labels, so I can’t speak to their safety. But we know, for example, that formaldehyde, a classified human carcinogen, can be present in fleece as well as other textiles. It’s used to keep items from shrinking, and apparently, it can help with stain and mildew resistance. While health concerns regarding formaldehyde are well established, the Trump EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced a proposal to double the amount of formaldehyde considered safe to inhale—if finalized, this will be a blow to public health and a giant gift to industry.
Health, skin contact, and impacts
Chemicals used to make textiles are known to harm the environment and human health. I wish there were more studies demonstrating links between textiles and health considering that clothing can contain a large variety of potentially unsafe chemicals and that skin, our largest organ, is in such intimate contact with these fabrics. Many studies on textiles and health focus on rashes—allergic contact dermatitis—that result from wearing clothing. One study focused on brominated flame retardants in textiles showed that sweat leaches chemical additives from plastics, making them available to be absorbed through skin.
Microplastics and fleece
There has been some research on the absorption of flame retardants found in microplastics through skin. And microplastics are a huge concern with fleece; the fabric is a well-established source. EPA has said that these tiny particles of plastic have been found in every ecosystem on the planet plus food, beverages, and human and animal tissue. The brand Patagonia, known for its iconic fleeces, has even commissioned studies on microplastics coming from their products. They found damning information and have committed to finding better ways to make fleece.
This is not new information either. Back in 2016, Patagonia found that “during laundering, a single fleece jacket sheds as many as 250,000 synthetic fibers… Based on an estimate of consumers across the world laundering 100,000 Patagonia jackets each year, the amount of fibers being released into public waterways is equivalent to the amount of plastic in up to 11,900 grocery bags.” What a mess.
So what to do?
While we all have a lot of fleece in our homes nowadays, we are still in charge of what we purchase. So, Flora, you can start by committing to not purchase any more fleece going forward. Try to find a new pajama material your son will tolerate. For fleece items that you own and want to keep, it may be helpful to create a barrier between your naked flesh and the fleece—this could be as simple as wearing a cotton layer. It may also matter how you wash your fleece items and how often. Some studies have demonstrated differences in microplastic release with top-loading versus front-loading machines, depending on the age of the fabric. But I don’t think it’s realistic that anyone would change their machines to deal with fleece!
What I do think matters most is that the people who created the fleece problem figure out how to fix it. Consumers can’t shop their way out of this fuzzy issue. This could look like strong legislation around plastic textiles, mandatory safety studies, and even requiring manufacturers to support innovation so municipal wastewater plants can better capture microplastics from fleece before they enter our waterways. Patagonia determined that polyester makes up the largest share of plastic that gets through wastewater treatment plants. This is one of the ways plastic winds up in our bodies. We eat the fish that eat the plastic after all. More clothing brands urgently need to get similarly involved in solutions.
What else to wear?
In the meantime, breathable natural fibers like organic cotton and wool are preferable to fleece made from fossil oil and gas. There is also nonsynthetic fleece, like cotton fleece, on the market, though sometimes these are blended with synthetic fibers, so always read labels when shopping. Wool fleece can be both heavier and more expensive than plastic. A big plus is that natural fibers can absolutely be soft and comfy, with the added benefit of never having that plastic-y, almost oily feel. I’m hoping this will be a selling point for your son and his pj’s. Good luck!
Tell Congress: Protect Families From the Plastics and Petrochemical Industry