Survey of Chemical Substances in Consumer Products, 58 – Survey of chemical substances in textile colorants

Survey of chemical substances in textile colorants

Introduction

There is an increasing focus on the chemistry surrounding us. Compounds containing unwanted effects have been identified in commonly used products in several studies. Thus the Danish Environmental Protection Agency has instigated a programme for mapping of chemical compounds in consumer products – including mapping and test of chemical compounds in textile dyes for hobby use.

There are a number of products for decoration and dyeing of textiles for hobby use - fabric colours, colours for e.g. silk printing and batik dyeing, pens, and colour pens for textiles. There is a potential risk of skin contact both at application and following use. In case of volatile compound presence there is a potential risk of breathing at application and following drying. Following wash may imply that the compounds are emitted into the environment. Some compounds can mean an increased consumer environmental strain.

The purpose of the project is to identify the chemical compounds used in textile dyes at dyeing and decoration of household textiles. Furthermore, the project is supposed to identify the extent of private consumers or institutional use of textile dyes enabling an assessment of a potential risk based on the results of this project.