Clothing has been one of my biggest challenges.  Gaining control over this challenge as been one of my biggest rewards.  The clothes we put on are with us all the time.  Not only can many cloths emit a toxicity that can be breathed in, but different noxious fabrics and dyes can allow toxicity to be absorbed directly thought the skin.  I am constantly amazed at how strong and how immediate a Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome (MCS) reaction can be when I am wearing clothing that are a trigger for me.  Discovering what to wear and how to process these clothes so I can wear them, is a major key in thriving with MCS. 

 

There are three main parts to the clothing puzzle.  The first is, what to buy?  The second is, how to process it once you get it?  The third is, how to put them through the laundry, maintaining a MCS reaction free environment?  In the last few years I’ve put these pieces together and I am now incredibly grateful to have a closet full of clothes that I love. 

 

What clothing to choose?  The answer is a consistent theme you will encounter in this blog, ‘The more natural the better’.   Of course, as with everything, I have found exceptions to this rule and as we all know, individual results may vary. 

 

I absolutely enjoy organic cotton clothing.  With the advent of the internet there are a lot of great outlets for organic clothing.  A website called Rawganique is one of my favorites.  American Apparel also has some fantastic organic cotton t-shirts and underwear.  To maximize my success with this I make sure, as much as possible, that the clothing I acquire is machine washable (more about this in a moment). 

 

If we were to take a look in my closet right now we would find a half a dozen t-shirts.  Most are from American Apparel.  Some button down white professional shirts, several organic cotton/hemp ties, and a purple corduroy shirt, all from Rawganique.  A lot of cotton work shirts form my last job.  Several pairs of Levies jeans, purchased second hand.  Several pairs of Smart Wool socks.  A gray polyester/cotton sweatshirt that I was very surprised to be able to wear.  Two pairs of Pronto-Uomo wool slacks form Men’s Wearhouse.  And a rather old and well used leather jacket.

 

Before I discuss each of these items in more detail, let me introduce the concept of ‘processing’ clothing.  Clothing, before we purchase them, are exposed to all sorts of potential MCS triggers.  Where have they been stored?  How were they transported?  What were they transported with and stored with?  Were the cloths processed with ‘sizing’; a class of chemicals used on new clothes? (The purpose of ‘sizing’ is to help the clothing keep their shape and sizes, making them look good on the rack before you purchase them)  These are all aspects of our clothing we have no control over.  How to virtually eliminate their effects is something we can take charge of.  I try to only buy clothing that is machine washable and therefore can be processed.  There will be exceptions to this, for instance most professional clothing needs to be dry-cleaned.

 

What do I mean by the ‘processing’ of clothing?  Everything I can, I wash with a mixture of 1/3 cup of Borax, 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar and a ½ a cup of Planet liquid laundry soap.  This mixture is a hint I have found immensely valuable.  I process every thing I can this way.  The Borax is a base and the apple cider vinegar is an acid.   The reaction between the two will strip virtually all the MCS triggers from cotton clothing.  Many clothing items will need to be washed this way several times.  How many times you will need to process each item of clothing will vary.  Not every piece of cotton clothing will become wearable this way, but all the organic cotton clothing I’ve purchased has been wearable after only a few washes of ‘processing’. 

 

There is the third piece that I should mention at this point, how to wash clothes.  The best trick I’ve found for this is a combo of 12oz of baking soda and 12oz of lemon juice.  After I put my cloths in the washing machine I will pour the baking soda on one side of the cloths and the lemon juice on the other.  Let the machine combine the two.  Like before the base of the baking powder and the acid of the lemon juice will clean your cloths quite well.  If your clothes are particularity dirty or have gotten a MCS trigger on them just double wash your cloths.  Do a processing load immediately followed by a washing load.  Washing my clothes this way has kept my attire MCS trigger free for several years now. 

 

Back to what to buy. Organic cotton/hemp clothing has been a fantastic discovery.  Admittedly it is more expensive then normal clothing, not to mention that the best selection is on the internet and shipping charges from outside theUScan be a little exorbitant.  Organic clothing has not had the underlying material interfered with before we buy it.  This means that for cotton and hemp some of the natural oils are still in the fabric.  I find that these oils can be a MCS trigger for me.  Processing the cloths in the above manner a few times, followed by a regular washing, will eliminate this challenge. Possessing quality, stylish clothing that contains no MCS triggers is invaluable; the extra cost is repeatedly worth it.

 

Jeans are a bit bigger of a test.  I have yet to find a source for jeans that I can purchase ‘off the rack’.   The biggest difficulty for me is that most new jeans use low quality rivets in their construction.  A strong MCS trigger for me is cheap metal, especially when it touches my skin.  I often scour second hand stores for older Levies jeans that have higher quality copper rivets.  The real challenge is that I never know what the previous owner did with these jeans.  I usually process these jeans a good half-dozen times before trying them on.  Even after I find and process jeans that look like they might work, only about fifty percent of them actually do.  Another reason I buy them from second hand stores is that they tend to cost only five to ten dollars per pair.  If a pair of jeans does not work for me I don’t mind donating them back to the place I bought them, I’m only out ten bucks.

 

Socks are my nemesis, or least they have been.  The primary ingredient in most socks is either cotton or wool, something that with enough processing will most often work.  The real problem is the secondary fibers.  Most of these present a MCS trigger for me.  The worst of the lot is Spandex (lycra)  If you read the list of items that the socks are made of, you will find that just about every pair of socks made in the last five years contains Spandex.  I was very happy to find one fantastic exception to this rule, Smart Wool socks.  The fiber they use for stretchiness is nylon, something that generally tends to not be an MCS trigger.  Smart Wool socks are just about the only clothing product I have found that I can wear right off the rack, with out processing.  As an added bonus they also are the single most comfortable socks I have ever owned. 

 

What about cloths that are dry-clean only?   They can not be processed and washed the above manner.  I try to keep to natural fabrics.  The slacks I wear for my job are all wool and took a few tries to find a brand that works for me.  Dry-cleaning can be an added challenge for most of us with MCS, but there are things we can do.  There are two main chemicals used in dry-cleaning today, a normal one and an environmentally friendly version.  Ironically the environmentally friendly version is the one I can not tolerate.  Before I use a new dry-cleaner I always ask which they use.  After I get my cloths dry-cleaned from the correct cleaner I often hang them up in the bathroom and let them air our over night.  Even then, I will often experience a mild MCS reaction the first time I put them on again, but the next day that will often fade away. 

 

Jackets have been a challenge for me.  I recently purchased a nice organic cotton jacket but when I got it and read the label it had a polyester/rayon lining that I could not tolerate.  I took the lining out and found that the metal zipper was also an MCS trigger for me.  (As of the writing of this blog it is in with a local seamstress that I trust, having a plastic zipper put in to replace the metal one)  My leather jacket it one of my most prized positions, it does not mess with me at all.  It’s got good leather and a high quality stainless steal zipper.  When it needs cleaning a little rubbing alcohol on a clean cotton cloth does the trick. Yes, cleaning leather with alcohol is not the best for the leather but it works great for me.

 

One last thing about doing laundry.  If you have your own washer and dryer then, fantastic.  You can have control over what gets used in the machines.  I’m sure I hardly need to mention that items such as fabric softeners and dryer sheets are right out.   Both items are designed to leave lasting manmade chemicals behind on clothes.  I  generally attempt to avoid public Laundromats; I never know what the last person put into the machine before I use it.  I live in an apartment building that has one washer and one dryer for fourteen people.  I do not have control over what others do with these machines.  Something I do each time I do laundry is to wash my towels first.  I will do a towel load with just a little soap then I dry them.  This will clean out both machines form whatever the last person used.  Of course I then re-wash the towels first in the borax and apple cider vinegar, then wash again with the baking soda and lemon juice.  I then dry them and only after I have done this will I wash my cloths.  I have found much better results with my clothing after I started to clean out the machines before I wash the things I actually wear.

 

Clothing like personal care products are ‘water’, that thing that fish never think of.  They have just been there our whole lives.  Finding out how to manage my cloths is an area that has brought much relieve from MCS symptoms.  Again I’ll say that this is probably an area that is easier for men then women.  Men simply need fewer outfits and most clothing made for men tend to be made of natural fabrics.  Take a look at this area of your life, a little attention can create much relief.