To think that retailers shouldn’t use biocides and antibacterial agents in clothing?

[SunsetBunny]

Wanted a cap for DS & saw that M&S had a good range of plain colours. Was so disappointed when I found them in store and saw the label - they are treated with biocidal agents, titanium dioxide and silver chloride.
I already don’t buy their socks or pants as they are treated with similar stuff. Whose barmy idea was it to start using all this stuff in clothing? Who the hell wants this stuff on their skin? What on Earth is wrong with plain cotton? Why does everything have to be messed about with?

In an era of increasing antibiotic resistance, which is driven in part due to our prolific use of antibacterial stuff, and which has been well publicised in recent years, why the hell are manufacturers suddenly using these kind of agents all over the shop?

@mumsnet could we possibly start a mumsnet campaign to try and stop this of at least demonstrate our mass disapproval?

In the meantime please check your labels carefully and avoid buying anything treated like this!

Anyone?

Nobody else noticed this or concerned about it?

I admit my ignorance but yes I am concerned about this,... Off to Google the details.

What is your outrage aimed at in particular?
The use of silver in particularly socks, is common to support against er manky feet

@Crockof. Nothing comes up in my goggle so let me know if you find anything... never. Heard of this myself so not totally sure if i should get upset or not on this.

Clothes are treated with all sorts though that they don't put on the label. It needs to come by sea from China/India and is treated to prevent mould, mildew and insect infestation anyway - hence the need to wash clothes before wearing and the funny smell you get that lingers on cheap jeans.

This is just the tip of the iceberg - the stuff that has been proven safe to wear long term next to the skin... and they tell you about it...

What is your outrage aimed at in particular?
The use of silver in particularly socks, is common to support against er manky feet

But it’s just not necessary, we have washing machines and showers to deal with that. We don’t need our clothes to be constantly working against bacteria - that’s how they develop resistance.
Wwashing machines and showers

m.phys.org/news/2013-04-nanosilver-textiles-friend-foe.html

From the article:

“the professor in risk assessment of nanomaterials at the department of environmental engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, based in Lyngby, considers it "a bad idea to distribute silver in the environment". He points to a study that found evidence for nanosilver accumulating in the food web based on a study of plants and animals of an experimental wetland environment.”

And

“Another issue is that bacteria may become resistant to silver if it is widely used in consumer products. "This is a threat for medical applications", Hans-Curt Flemming tells youris.com. The Professor of aquatic microbiology at the University of Duisburg-Essen, in Germany, contends that nanosilver in consumer textiles is "plain nonsense".”

Totally agree with you. Have just become aware of this recently with m and s socks and like you agree. what are they messing round with our clothes for. ive lost all confidence in m and s after they could not give me a satisfactory response about these socks containing biocide. Worlds gone mad. What’s wrong as you say with ordinary washing showering etc