Thirty-one skin-contact garments bought in Catalonia were microwave-digested and analysed by ICP-MS for 26 elements. Magnesium had the highest mean (129 mg/kg), followed by aluminium (31.8), antimony (22.3), copper (20.1), and total chromium (19.8). Arsenic, beryllium, mercury, nickel, thallium, and vanadium were below detection in every sample. One black polyamide and spandex undergarment contained 605 mg/kg chromium; without that sample the chromium mean was 0.33 mg/kg. Antimony was higher in polyester and in cotton blended with synthetic fibre than in 100% cotton, and no polyester fibre exceeded the 260 mg/kg EU Ecolabel value cited for antimony. Modelled dermal hazard quotients were below 1, with the highest for antimony and chromium.
Key numbers
| Analyte | Matrix | Value | Unit | Statistic | N | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bi | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Cd | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Fe | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Pb | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Tl | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Zn | clothing digest | 0.01 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Be | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Co | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Cu | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Mn | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Mo | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) | |
| Sm | clothing digest | 0.03 | mg/kg | lod | p.PDF p.3 (printed 310) |
Methods (brief)
Cloth density was measured by cutting and weighing dried cloth (Table 1, mg/cm2) and used in the exposure equation. Body weights assumed 70 kg (men), 60 kg (women), and 6.98 kg (child under 1 year). Exposure totals in Table 6 use detected concentrations. Percent contributions of garment type were not transcribed.
Detection and reporting: 0.01 mg/kg Bi, Cd, Fe, Pb, Tl, Zn; 0.03 mg/kg Be, Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Sm, Sn, Sr; 0.05 mg/kg As, Hg, Mg, Ni, Sb, Sc; 0.13 mg/kg Ba, Cr, Se, V; 0.25 mg/kg Al and B. Table 4 prints some minima as <0.13 for B, which does not match the 0.25 mg/kg B LOD in the methods. Non-detects were set to half the LOD for statistics.
Basis: Total element in the textile, mg/kg, after acid digestion of dried cloth. Not a sweat or migration measurement. Dermal exposure in Table 6 is a model (migration fraction 0.005 per day, penetration 0.01, or 0.03 for As). Chromium in the clothes is total Cr; the dermal reference dose used for risk is for Cr(VI).
Evidence fitness
This source can support: Total element concentrations in these 31 garments as means, ranges, and a few highlighted samples; Cited Ecolabel, OEKO-TEX, and GOTS textile limits; Modelled dermal exposure totals.
It cannot support: Sweat-extractable or migrated metal; Chromium(VI) or inorganic arsenic; A full garment-by-garment matrix; Dietary exposure (cited from Domingo et al. 2012, not measured here).
Limitations
n=31 and individual garments are not in an element table, so Table 4 summaries plus the highlighted samples were entered. Table 5 is other studies and was not copied, except that this study’s own range column largely repeats Table 4. The B detection limit in the methods (0.25 mg/kg) disagrees with Table 4 minima printed as <0.13. Chromium risk uses a Cr(VI) reference dose while the measurement is total chromium. Brand names are in the sampling description and are not repeated. Adult clothing has no separate product slug here; infant-clothing is suggested only because bodysuits and baby pyjamas are in the set.
Related evidence
- Clothing (onesies, pajamas, outerwear)
- Aluminum
- Arsenic, Total
- Lead
- Cadmium
- Chromium
- Nickel
- Antimony
- Tin
Update history
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