View Full Version : Interesting info about chemicals in underwear!
Awhile back, I was going to buy DH some underwear. I looked at Hanes, and it had that it had "Fresh IQ" in it. I asked on Amazon if that meant it had a chemical in it, and no one seemed to know. Then last night, a guy answered me with interesting info. He directed me to another website, which has more links within it, that I hope you can easily open up.
Very interesting......and disconcerting! When this person answered my question, before he put this other link up, he said that he called Hanes Customer Service and asked them about it. She said that it's just a "misting" that they put on the underwear and it washes off after a few washes. Hmmm....
Here's the other link(s) he posted.
http://www.debralynndadd.com/q-a/haynes-fresh-iq/
To quote Riley "What a revoltin' development this is!"
We need our microbes, and we disturb them at our peril. I can't believe most Hanes customers are clamoring for this.
Williamsmith
2-11-18, 2:40pm
I don’t wear Hanes. I sport Staffords ...made in China. I’m sure the Chinese have the utmost concern for my health and environmental pollution so I’m confident my drawers are not a threat to me but I do have a strange craving for Peking Duck and a curiousity about chopsticks.
Chicken lady
2-11-18, 2:50pm
If you’re craving variety, Stafford is also made in Pakistan, but apparently the fit is slightly different and thus i must buy the underwear in the store and read the labels.
Williamsmith
2-11-18, 2:59pm
If you’re craving variety, Stafford is also made in Pakistan, but apparently the fit is slightly different and thus i must buy the underwear in the store and read the labels.
Thank you CL. I did not know Pakistanis made Stafford also. Although, I have no reason to favor Pakistanis over Chinese except that had it not been for the Chinese subsidizing our national debt over the past couple of decades, we would not have been able to wage several ill conceived wars overseas. But Pakistanis can be a very nasty bunch as a friend who used to run a factory in England advised me. And I quite imagine a linen factory in Pakistan does not have two fifteen minute breaks, an hour lunch, 40 hr week, paid sick and annual leave and a 401k for their employees. Where is a good American supposed to assuage his guilt?
iris lilies
2-11-18, 3:06pm
I have vague knowledge about plastic with germ fighting technology, but I have no idea what that means, dont wish to know, dont want the feature, hate they they seem to exist.
i am buying more and more things on ebay, used if
I cant find them at a thrift store.
Where is a good American supposed to assuage his guilt?
Well, apparently there is Flint and Tinder (https://huckberry.com/flint-and-tinder). And Union House (https://www.unionlabel.com/hard-hat-apparel-brand-clothing.html). And City Boxers (http://www.cityboxers.com/). All of them assemble men's underwear of American-grown cotton in America. The prices are breathtaking if you're used to the price of Hanes or Fruit of the Loom at Target/Walmart. But it's possible. :)
Williamsmith
2-11-18, 8:51pm
Well, apparently there is Flint and Tinder (https://huckberry.com/flint-and-tinder). And Union House (https://www.unionlabel.com/hard-hat-apparel-brand-clothing.html). And City Boxers (http://www.cityboxers.com/). All of them assemble men's underwear of American-grown cotton in America. The prices are breathtaking if you're used to the price of Hanes or Fruit of the Loom at Target/Walmart. But it's possible. :)
Thanks SteveinMN....with the prices quoted online, I ought to not only be able to atone for my own transgressions but for the next two generations!
Yeah, DH looked up some 100% cotton briefs and said they were soooooo expensive. I suppose though, when you consider how many times you might wear them, the price wouldn't seem so bad.
SteveinMN
2-12-18, 10:15am
Yeah, DH looked up some 100% cotton briefs and said they were soooooo expensive. I suppose though, when you consider how many times you might wear them, the price wouldn't seem so bad.
There is that...
(Full disclosure, I don't own a single pair of made-in-USA underwear.) I may have related this story in this forum earier, but the first time my current wife went with me to the food co-op to shop, she picked up a brick of fairly-common cheese and was shocked at the price (I don't remember; maybe $7-8/lb.). "It's so expensive!" "Actually, that's the price of cheese when you treat the cattle humanely and don't let their manure pollute the environment, pay the farm workers a wage they can live on and not have to visit the ER for routine medical care, and sell it in a store in which every employee makes a local living wage and has health coverage and tuition reimbursement."
Maybe the question is not "Why is Product A so expensive?" but "Why is Product B so cheap?" Is Product B really cheaper when so much of its production is subsidized by everyone?
Williamsmith
2-12-18, 10:32am
There is that...
(Full disclosure, I don't own a single pair of made-in-USA underwear.) I may have related this story in this forum earier, but the first time my current wife went with me to the food co-op to shop, she picked up a brick of fairly-common cheese and was shocked at the price (I don't remember; maybe $7-8/lb.). "It's so expensive!" "Actually, that's the price of cheese when you treat the cattle humanely and don't let their manure pollute the environment, pay the farm workers a wage they can live on and not have to visit the ER for routine medical care, and sell it in a store in which every employee makes a local living wage and has health coverage and tuition reimbursement."
Maybe the question is not "Why is Product A so expensive?" but "Why is Product B so cheap?" Is Product B really cheaper when so much of its production is subsidized by everyone?
Oh great! So now I have to feel guilty about my hot pepper cheese I get for $3.99/lb? When will the suffering end?
You all are such a bad influence! Now I've had to Google men's underwear - I will blame you if I get hauled in to court with charges.
That being said, who wants chemicals around them anyway? Do they ( manufacturers) think this is needed? I guess so, since they sell.
When so much of our stuff is made in China these days where regulations may or may not be enforced, how do we really know what's in them? Seems like US corporations can skirt some things like that when made off-shore. Or do California environmental laws save us from Asian container loads of chemicalized goods? Speaking of chemicals, I think I just saw an ad for a Febreze spray so you don't need to change your underwear daily. Can that really be or did I dream that up?
Ugg. Now that I've clicked on this thread a few times I finally did some google to see what I could find, since it occurred to me that surely not just underwear is likely to have been treated with chemicals. And sure enough, among other things most wrinkle free material has been treated with a relative of teflon. Since I'm not planning on taking up ironing I guess my choices are either to take the risk of teflon poisoning or wear wrinkled clothes to the office.
I would never wear anything new without washing it at least once, by itself. But I don't know if that helps or not. I think they put "sizing" on everything, to make it keep it's shape better for transport. Hopefully that, at least, can be washed out quickly. Yeah......this world is a crazy place.
Oh great! So now I have to feel guilty about my hot pepper cheese I get for $3.99/lb? When will the suffering end?
Realizing I may have missed a smile emoji there, Americans spend a lower proportion of their income for food than almost every other developed nation. This is, in part because we've bought into the American system that privatizes gain and socializes loss. When huge producers and vendors can dictate create oligopolies and influence politics and have the American public subsidize their worker benefits, plant maintenance, transportation, etc., you know that cheese has to cost more than $3.99/lb. But the unbundled price is hard to determine. Most people don't want to figure it out. I think some people don't want to know. Their names are legion. And they're okay with it. I realize I am fortunate enough to have the income that lets me vote with my dollars. Many do not believe they have that vote.
When so much of our stuff is made in China these days where regulations may or may not be enforced, how do we really know what's in them? Seems like US corporations can skirt some things like that when made off-shore. Or do California environmental laws save us from Asian container loads of chemicalized goods?
We don't know. Until the adulterated goods are inspected and identified. Which is tough given the number of inspectors and the flood of incoming products. And, if caught, the US corporation can claim plausible deniability ("We are doubling down on our efforts to have our suppliers comply...") and move on to the next supplier/manufacturer. Rinse and repeat. I don't mean to sound sour about this; just recognizes the old adage that a person will not understand something if his or her salary depends on not understanding it.
Speaking of chemicals, I think I just saw an ad for a Febreze spray so you don't need to change your underwear daily. Can that really be or did I dream that up?
I hope you dreamed that up. On the other hand, Charmin advertises that their product cleans so well (https://www.ispot.tv/ad/74CE/charmin-ultra-strong-the-secret-to-clean-underwear) you don't need to change your underwear daily.
Advertisements are just insane anymore. this is a bit off-topic, but this morning I saw yet another commercial for something like an antidepressant or anti-arthritis drug or cancer treatment, etc., and they ALWAYS have people smiling and acting like life is great. How misleading. They show people with cancer smiling, playing with their dog, enjoying life. They show people who are severely depressed, enjoying themselves. They show people with horrible arthritis playing frisbee......all after taking the advertised drug. It's all just lies, lies, lies.....
Advertisements are just insane anymore. this is a bit off-topic, but this morning I saw yet another commercial for something like an antidepressant or anti-arthritis drug or cancer treatment, etc., and they ALWAYS have people smiling and acting like life is great. How misleading. They show people with cancer smiling, playing with their dog, enjoying life. They show people who are severely depressed, enjoying themselves. They show people with horrible arthritis playing frisbee......all after taking the advertised drug. It's all just lies, lies, lies.....
That's to distract you with pretty images while they read the inevitable two-minute list of horrible side effects.
LOL..........it's amazing anyone wants to use any of that stuff, if they listen to the side-effects. I wish they would do that with everything out there.............commercials about Taco Bell, McDonalds, Wendy's, cosmetics, lotions, etc., etc., etc...................
Those Cancer Treatments of American commercials make me almost want to go there, even without cancer........Everyone on them sounds like they are perfectly healthy now..........but in small print at the bottom it says something like "These results are not typical. You should not expect these results" (meaning......recovering from cancer.)
Actually, I forget which anti-depressant commercial it was, but it was fairly reasonable. It went from showing people who were almost non-functional from depression. After taking the medicine, it showed them at least walking the dog, slightly smiling with other people, being a little social. That was probably the most realistic ad I've seen.
Hijacking to mention that this ad is probably the most realistic one I've seen lately:
https://www.esurance.com/commercials/the-talk
The topic on this link/thread was largely about men's undies (and related proximity to "the guys") but now it makes me wonder about bras and whether they are, too, treated by some faint mist of unknown variety. I mean, Hanes makes bras, too. Ugh, maybe I don't wanna know.
I would never wear anything new without washing it at least once, by itself. But I don't know if that helps or not. I think they put "sizing" on everything, to make it keep it's shape better for transport. Hopefully that, at least, can be washed out quickly. Yeah......this world is a crazy place.
I agree, my daughter works at Target and had her pants rip out. She had to buy some and wear them right away at work. She ended up with hives all over her legs by the end of her shift! I would actually avoid those undies with the spray.
I agree, my daughter works at Target and had her pants rip out. She had to buy some and wear them right away at work. She ended up with hives all over her legs by the end of her shift! I would actually avoid those undies with the spray.
:0!
Actually, I forget which anti-depressant commercial it was, but it was fairly reasonable. It went from showing people who were almost non-functional from depression. After taking the medicine, it showed them at least walking the dog, slightly smiling with other people, being a little social. That was probably the most realistic ad I've seen.
I have seen that, much better than the expectation that you will be joyously happy with medication. That is where we got the idea it was 'happy pills' instead of 'surviving the black pit of despair pills'. It hits close to home as I struggle through another day of trying to get things done, I get out of bed and am productive every single day, but can feel the depression lurking all the time.
Are the chemicals on the clothes packaging your exterior body any worse than the chemicals in the packaging of the food headed into your interior body? I had a small bag of Cape Cod potato chips today and it definitely looked like it was heavily coated with PFAs. I would rather have had some grease on my hands.
Are the chemicals on the clothes packaging your exterior body any worse than the chemicals in the packaging of the food headed into your interior body? I had a small bag of Cape Cod potato chips today and it definitely looked like it was heavily coated with PFAs. I would rather have had some grease on my hands.
PFAs??
Is that listed on their package?
I don't think so. It's not an ingredient but it can migrate from the packaging into the food.
Gardenarian
2-14-18, 6:10pm
I buy organic underwear, not sure if that means it's not treated???
I always wash before wearing in Dr. Bronner's, as I've heard real soap removes chemicals more effectively than detergents. Some people soak clothes overnight with apple cider vinegar -I doubt that there have been any studies done on the effectiveness of that.
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