Shocking results were found by a recent laboratory test led by the Association of Conscious Consumers. Testing revealed that one in three underpants contain toxic chemicals and one in ten contain chemicals that are extremely harmful to our health. The test conducted in international collaboration has found dangerous bisphenol compounds in a large set of underpants. Now the Association of Conscious Consumers together with its international partners is working on banning bisphenol usage across consumer goods.
The Association of Conscious Consumers (ACC) aims to make consumers aware of the risks of harmful chemicals affceting human health and the environment. The organisation’s ultimate goal is to achieve an EU-wide ban on toxic substances in consumer products.
Bisphenols are one of the most widely produced chemical compound family. They are most commonly found in polycarbonate plastics and resins, but they are also used as additives, for example as a colour stabilizer in textiles, clothing and underwear.
Even at very low level, bisphenols behave as hormonal system disruptors and as such can induce infertility in both women and men. Their presence in consumer goods can also negatively affect foetal and child development, cell regeneration, human energy levels and can be responsible for hormonal disorders such as precocious puberty, obesity. They also pose a risk to the developing nervous system.
Human biomonitoring studies have shown that we are widely exposed to BPA; with data finding that 92% of adults from 11 European countries had BPA in their urine.
New types of bisphenols are hidden toxics
The leaching of bisphenols from plastic goods, kitchen utensils and drinking bottles is increasingly well known among conscious consumers. The possibility of absorption through the skin has already led to the ban of one specific type of bisphenol, bisphenol-A (BPA), in products like thermo paper (used in cash slips) or baby bottles.
“Because of the ban, manufacturers are replacing BPA with an increasing number of new chemicals, tipically with other types of bisphenols, which can pose similar health risks. These include bisphenol-S and bisphenol-F, which are not currently banned,” says Júlia Dénes, specialist at the Association of Conscious Consumers.
ACC has therefore undertaken a study to assess the bisphenol content of underwear. “It is very important to have up-to-date and reliable test results on bisphenol content in products that are in daily contact with our skin and therefore easily transfer harmful substances to our body. These products are not currently subject to any restriction on bisphenol content”, explains the expert.
Worldwide, 80% of synthetic fibres are subject to some kind of color fastening treatment. In materials like spandex and elastane certain chemical auxiliaries are used as colour fasteners. These substances contain bisphenol-S and bisphenol-F and are inevitably present as residues in the final products.
“We chose underpants because they are used by everyone, and they come into contact with our skin on a very sensitive and important surface, so their potentially harmful content makes a huge difference to our health.” says Júlia Dénes.
The test was carried out in an accredited international laboratory. A total of 166 different types of underwear were tested in a unique international collaboration.
Shocking results affecting our health
In 2023, the EU Food Safety Authority reduced the daily intake limit for bisphenols to 0.2 nanograms per kg body weight. This is as low as 20,000dth (!) of the previous recommendation, due to the revealed highly toxic nature of bisphenols. Based on the recent results of the above mentioned test organizaton name would extend the regulation to all types of clothing, which are not yet subject to any bisphenol limitation.
The test found shocking levels of toxic content:
One third (30%) of the tested underpants contained some kind of bisphenol (BPA, BPS or BPF).Moreover, 10% of all samples showed a bisphenol content well above the maximum amount determined to protect human health, with an average of 11 mg/kg of bisphenol. The highest amount of bisphenol found in a single sample was 301 mg/kg, which accounts for 0.03% of the product’s weight!Women are at higher risk
It is even more frighteing that 17% of products for women contained high levels of bisphenol. These underpants were predominantly made of synthetic materials.
“Although cotton products are available for women, our initial market research showed that majority of women’s panties are made from synthetic materials. This immediately implies a greater risk of exposure to bisphenol,” says Júlia Dénes, chemist at ACC.
For detailed overview of the test results, including types of materials, ratio between underwear for girls, boys, women and men please visit the test results’ page here.
Avoid synthetic fibres, choose cotton!
Test results show that underwear made of synthetic fibres increase the risk of exposure to bisphenols. It came as a surprise that the test found products of well-known brands that contained bisphenols, while underpants sourced from cheeper production mostly proved to be bisphenol-free.
Overall results suggest that underwear with high cotton content are unlikely to contain bisphenols regardless of their brand name or source of production.
NGOs against dangerous chemicals – the ToxFree Life for All partnership
In the ToxFree Life for All project, consumer organisations from Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Austria are cooperating to reduce consumers’ exposure to harmful chemicals. The five partner organisations are committed to conduct product tests, consult with decision-makers, launch awareness campaigns and deliver consumer education programmes. The collaboration is initiated and led by the Hungarian Association of Conscious Consumers.
Why is their effort essential?
Experience shows that it can take up to 6 months for manufacturers to introduce a new chemical to the market. On the other hand, if these substances are found to be harmful, it takes on average 20 years (!) to ban them from consumer goods’ production.
This imbalance between the speed of industrial innovation and consumer protection is unsustainable and needs to be addressed urgently. It is critical to accelerate the regulation of chemicals across the whole spectrum of consumer products.
ToxFree LIFE for All project is funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme. It aims to protect health and the environment from the risks of harmful chemicals in everyday consumer products.
Partners
The participating partner organisations are Arnika and dTest from the Czech Republic, ZPS from Slovenia, VKI from Austria, Association of Conscious Consumers from Hungary.
Arnika (Czech Republic)
dTest (Czech Republic)
Zveza Potrosnikov Slovenije Drustvo (Slovenia)
Verein für Konsumenteninformation (Austria)
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. LIFE22-GIE-HU-ToxFree LIFE for All, 101114078. Co-funded by the Hungarian Ministry of Energy (Z1230232)
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