The main disadvantage of using naphthalene balls is the strong odor and discoloration of any metallic or special work. Delicate fabrics such as silk, satin, and wool need to be stored and protected from mites and other insects, without harming the clothes.

Insects find their way through the smallest of corners and easily creep into your cupboard during the rainy season or in humid weather. Camphor balls absorb moisture and will ensure that there’s no room for insects in your wardrobe. This will help keep your clothes clean during the wet season.

Natural products offer the advantage of keeping your clothes fresh and insect-free without leaving them smelly or damaged. Solutions, such as neem leaves offer a simple and inexpensive alternative to certain substances.

Neem Leaves for Clothes

More than 300 different active compounds of the neem tree have been reported but the most important limonoids are azadirachtin, salannin and nimbin. Neem extracts have the potential to inhibit the growth of bacteria.

A study conducted with different natural antibacterial agents on clothing showed that 100% neem oil treated fabrics reduced 65% and 96% of S.aureus and E.coli respectively.

Neem can now be found as an ingredient in laundry detergents, due to its antibacterial properties. It offers a range of solutions and uses, thanks to its many compounds that can be found in the different parts of the neem tree.

Neem leaves also have anti-pest and anti-fungal properties. As a natural pesticide, dried neem leaves placed in your wardrobe can prevent insects and bacteria from eating and ruining your clothes.

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How Antibacterial Treatments Work

In an attempt to create clothes with a barrier against the bacteria and the odor caused by sweat, some manufacturers have started to treat clothing with “antibacterial” agents that are meant to prevent the build-up of odor-causing bacteria.

Scientists at the Swedish Chemicals Agency analyzed 30 representative items of clothing treated with three common antibacterial treatments: silver, trichlocarban and triclosan. Washing rapidly removed these chemicals in all the clothes. In the case of triclosan and trichlocarban more than half of the original content was washed out after 10 washes. With silver, half of the substance had been washed after just 3 washes.

When these substances wash out, they end up in waterways and eventually reach the ocean, harming soil, food, and wildlife. Silver, for example, doesn’t degrade and has rapidly accumulated in the environment since it became a common fabric treatment. Trichlocarban and triclosan degrade very slowly.

Triclosan, and its related compound trichlorcarban, is a hormone disruptor, that can affect male and female reproductive hormones and possibly fetal development, and is also shown to alter thyroid function. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that health and beauty products containing these substances may no longer be marketed to consumers*.

Neem as a Safe Antibacterial

More than 300 different active compounds have been reported from different parts of the neem tree but the most important limonoids are azadirachtin, salannin and nimbin. Neem extracts have the potential to inhibit the growth of bacteria. A study conducted with different natural antibacterial agents on clothing showed that 100% neem oil treated fabrics reduced 65% and 96% of S.aureus and E.coli respectively.

Protect your health and the environment by avoiding clothes that contain antibacterial treatments and replacing them with those treated with natural solutions like neem.

*The FDA does not regulate clothing.

The post Antibacterial Clothing: Toxic for Humans and the Environment appeared first on Neem.World.

The non-organic cotton industry is the highest user of the herbicide glyphosate, a substance that is considered a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The accumulation of exposure to glyphosate through food and your skin can profoundly affect your mitochondria and also put you on the path to conditions linked to dysfunctional mitochondria, including metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, cancer, and high blood pressure.

The dangers of chemicals in clothing

The chemicals used to produce clothing don’t always wash out, especially those used for bleaching, sizing, dying, straightening, reducing shrinkage, resisting stains and odors, fireproofing, mothproofing, and reducing wrinkles and static.

Even natural fibers like cotton and wool could have been sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, dyed, and treated with compounds that make them fire-, odor-, stain-, water- and wrinkle-resistant. Here you can find help when searching for highly trained and experienced housekeeping staff in Tacoma. Petroleum-based synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon likely pull even more chemicals into the mix.

One such imbedded chemical is formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound (VOC) and probable carcinogen, according to the EPA and National Cancer Institute.

What you can do:

• When buying new clothes, look for ones that are as close to natural as possible. Look for organic cottons and wools and fewer synthetics like polyester and nylon. Avoid  “wrinkle-free” and “stain-resistant” to ensure that nothing is being added to your clothes that you don’t want there.
• Dermatologists say that washing your clothes before wearing them can help protect against allergic contact dermatitis.
• Research a brand’s manufacturing process and avoid “fast fashion” brands which sell clothes at extremely low prices, given that in order to sell clothes at low prices, they have to outsource their manufacturing to questionable suppliers.
• Buying only the clothes you need can also help avoid further creating waste and polluting the environment.
• Make sure to always learn about the manufacturing practices of the products that you buy.

By buying organic cotton, produced with natural, eco-friendly crop care solutions, you can help clean the air, conserve water, improve soil health and ensure better working conditions for farmers. As a natural pesticide, neem is one of the tools when it comes to combatting cotton aphids and nematodes – some of the biggest hurdles when producing cotton – in an all-natural way.

Have you already made the switch organic cotton? Let us know in the comments below!

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