When someone dons training gear, they typically want to improve their health in some way.
New research from the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is alarming because of this. The team discovered that six famous athletic shirt brands and eight well-known sports bra brands both contained excessive amounts of the environmental toxin bisphenol A. (BPA).
Director of the CEH Illegal Toxic Threats Program Kaya Allan Sugerman stated in a news statement that studies have revealed that after handling receipt paper for a short period of time, BPA can enter the bloodstream through the skin. It is troubling to find such high amounts of BPA in our apparel because sports bras and athletic shirts are worn for hours at a time and are intended to cause perspiration.
BPA is an estrogen-mimicking hormone disruptor. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states that its primary industrial application is in the production of polycarbonate plastics. According to CNN, people are most likely to come into contact with it through the lining of cans and other food containers, but it has also been discovered in toys and floors.
Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, asthma in young girls, and even early mortality have all been linked to it as well as other detrimental health impacts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered it in 93% of examined urine samples, demonstrating how prevalent it is in the environment.
According to Dr. Jimena D az Leiva, director of science at CEH, “the issue with BPA is that it can mimic hormones like estrogen and block other hormone receptors, affecting the concentration of hormones in our systems and having detrimental health impacts.” Numerous health issues in offspring have been linked to even low amounts of exposure during pregnancy.
These issues include atypical mammary gland and ovarian development, which can raise the risk of breast or ovarian cancer later in life. Even at modest exposure levels like those present in modern humans, these effects are still there.
The CEH assessed popular sports bra and athletic shirt brands over the last six months in its most recent round of testing. They discovered that shirts from companies like The North Face, Brooks, Mizuno, Athleta, New Balance, and Reebok as well as bras from companies like PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, All in Motion, Nike, FILA all tested positive for the chemical and that using them could expose a person to up to 22 times the safety limit for BPA set by California law.
According to CNN, the relevant statute is known as Proposition 65, which came into effect in the state in 1986 and established a three-microgram daily safe limit for BPA exposure through the skin. All of the brands that tested positive on October 12 received legal letters from CEH, and the NGO will wait six months before taking further action while the brands work together to find a solution.
According to a statement from the firm obtained by Fast Company, “At The North Face, our commitment to product safety is unwavering, as is our compliance with all local, state, and federal laws addressing product safety.” We are looking into the claims made in the alert published by the Center for Environmental Health.
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Major news organizations’ inquiries for comments from the other mentioned corporations were not answered.
BPA has already been discovered by CEH in clothes. Baby socks and other goods made of polyester and spandex frequently include them. However, the organization has successfully pressured more than 90 companies to alter the way their clothing is created to eliminate BPA. This builds on earlier successes in other fields.
According to a statement from CEH to CNN, our legal action has been successful in pressuring entire sectors to remove particular chemicals from products like children’s confectionery or toys. These cases serve to protect consumers not just in California but across the entire nation.
This is due to the fact that it is typically impractical for a business to alter its methods only for the California market.
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In the end, CEH wants garment manufacturers to stop using BPA, but in the interim, it advised individuals to protect themselves by removing their athletic apparel as soon as they are finished exercising. The website Motherly also advised washing polyester items in cold water before letting them drip dry and choosing bras and blouses made of natural fibers rather than polyester.
The article Popular Sports Bra and Athletic Gear Brands Have High BPA Levels first appeared on EcoWatch.
