Question from YH
How do you know if a textile is permanent press or rayon? They seem similar to me. Does rayon emit formaldehyde?
Debra’s Answer
Permanent press is a finish and rayon is a fabric.
Rayon is made from natural cellulose and chemicals. It usually doesn’t have a formaldehyde finish. It is noted on the fabric content tag sewn into the garment.
That a fabric has a permanent press finish is usually stated on the label of cotton fabrics. However, all polyester/cotton blend fabrics have this finish and it is not on the label.
So my question is about rayon. Can it be considered safe? I usually only wear cotton but sometimes I find a top with rayon in it or just made out of rayon. I recently found jeans that had a bit of rayon in them. Just curious.
I consider rayon to be “borderline.”
It’s not strictly speaking a natural fiber because it’s not fiber in it’s “whole” state. It’s bits of natural fibers mixed with chemicals and extruded into fibers.
Ocassionally if I find a scarf or something I really like, or dressy clothing (which is hard to find made of natural fibers, and I do make my own for that reason) I’ll buy something with rayon, but it’s not my first choice.