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

Survey of chemical substances in textile colorants

Summary

Textile dyes can be divided into decoration dyes and products for textile dying of which 80% of the total consumption is composed of the latter. The group of decoration dyes includes products as felt-tip pens, pop-up dyes, and transfer dyes. The group of products for textile dying includes textile paint intended for dying or covering textiles in larger proportions. The annual Danish consumption is approximately 30,000 kg. A total of 42 products were identified at the mapping process.

15 products were taken for the initial analyses consisting of X-ray analyses for metals and analyses for volatile compounds. The X-ray analysis detected cupper, antimony, and a single detection of lead in the products.

A specific analysis for cupper, antimony, and lead was performed on the products with metal detection at the X-ray analysis. The level for antimony was 64-84 mg/kg detected in three products and cupper detected levels between 38-2400 mg/kg likewise detected in three products. Lead was not detected above the limit of detection.

Five products were taken for azo-dye analysis. Aromatic amines could not be detected indicating that the products contained no prohibited azo dyes.

The qualitative analysis for volatile compounds detected several glycols and solvents.

The content analysis indicated more glycol compounds in levels from 36 mg/kg to 53,000 mg/kg. Furthermore, other types of solvents as e.g. alcohols were detected in levels from 150 mg/kg to 1300 mg/kg.