Question from Irene
I bought organic cotton clothes from a reputable company and the smell was awful – a strong poisonous smell. I washed and soaked the items, but the smell did not diminish and is likely oil based as the smell also got onto all other clothes in the wash. Afterwards the smell also got onto my fingers and took some scrubbing to get the smell off my skin. I can’t touch the fabric due to it leaving a residue on my skin that smells strongly of pyrethrins.
The items were imported from India. There is a regulation among importers that they need to spray pesticides in order to keep from importing bugs into other countries but I don’t know if these get directly onto the items themselves.
Does anyone have an idea of what the residue is and how to get rid of it? Is it a pesticide from importers de-bugging their goods? I am concerned that my reason for buying organic clothes (in order to reduce the use of pesticides and not have those chemicals near my skin) is being nullified by the use of pesticides on foreign goods to reduce pest importation.I have smelled this same odor before on wood boxes imported from China.
I have asked the company but haven’t gotten a response yet and I am not sure they would even know if the shipments are being sprayed.
Debra’s Answer
I would return the goods to the company. Organic means no pesticides and that should include the shipping. If the clothing is not sufficiently protected from the shipping pesticides, it’s not organic.
Another reason to buy “Made in the USA”.
I’ve been worried about this subject for years; I always buy made in USA as Debra recommends, for this reason – but it is sometimes literally impossible to do. Maybe if you could ask for overnight delivery next time (it’s expensive, but your health is worth it) – perhaps the airlines don’t fumigate like ships do with shipping containers. Does anyone know if handbags are fumigated, also – most of ’em come from overseas! And how protected are the items being shipped? I’ve read that fumigation gases can certainly permeate the packing materials. What can a consumer do?
All good questions.
At one point, many years ago I used to think that everything I needed was available nontoxic, I just needed to find it.
But the reality is, we have some “changing the world” to do.
One thing would be for more importers to be aware of the issue and package products to not be contaminated. You could ask for special packaging. A simple wrapping in ordinary kitchen foil will block any contamination.
Best to try to find what you need made in the USA, and we also need more products made in the USA again.