I have been looking into a load of stuff about the chemicals that are added to fabrics. A lot of the time this is kids clothing, furnishings and waterproof/stain resistant.

I can get very overwhelmed by this stuff, it sends my anxiety spiralling and I don’t know how to make my kids safe or feel like there is positive stuff in the world. So, rightly or wrongly, the first thing I am going to do is share the information I have found. This way, through knowledge (knowledge is power... right?) perhaps we can work together to make a better world for the creatures and lil critters that inhabit it.

This is a very quick post written on my phone, not made pretty, or very well edited. Just a selection of sites and articles I have been saving. Most of these are just some pages from sites that are very informative and companies/charities doing amazing work, if you want to read further these sites are good places to start.

I have focussed on flame retardants and PFAS here. Some types of chemicals I feel we are not aware of but are so persistent in our daily lives and the U.K. government really needs to take immediate action to protect us and the environment.

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/26/toxic-sofa-eu-red-tape-flame-retardants

https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/app/uploads/2019/08/Background_Briefing_Flame_retardants_21.9.17_IS_nw.pdf

https://www.cottonsafenaturalmattress.co.uk/blogs/natural-mattresses/tagged/children-and-babies

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/toxic-chemicals-flame-retardant-food-packaging-plastics-cancer-mps-environment-government-a9005931.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/01/eu-regulations-chemicals-brexit-uk-cancer-eu

https://chemtrust.org/pfasbrief/

https://www.pfasfree.org.uk/about-PFAS#thepfasproblem

https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/scientific-impact-papers/sip_37.pdf

https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/reduce-your-risk/chemicals-and-environment/

If you aren’t feeling like you want to just bury your head in the sand after all this... some ways to take action today.

Email your MP (I’ll be writing some template letters soon).

Contact retailers! Even if you aren’t buying from them, call them out, ask them what they are doing to make their products safe, if the chemical companies are lobbying government the only thing we have is to get retailers to ask for change.

Buy from companies who are trying to make a difference.

Talk to people and spread the word.