Serving Size: 4.88 MB Servings Per Container: 1 In Your Body On Your Body For Your Home For Your Family Seeking Medical Treatment How to Detoxify Your Body Guide to Symptoms A Healthy House Values, Vision & Mission Background & History Staff & Advisors News & Upcoming Events Join Our Mailing List Contact Us Recommended Resources Index of Terms Works Cited This product contains 100% natural ingredients. Easy Pay Pal Donations TNTP Grade A Brain-food More Special Features Back to Index of Terms The product Fabric Softener is in the following categories: Household Cleaners  |  Clothing Fabric Softener CHEMICALS CONTAINED: Fabric softeners leave a chemical residue on clothes to reduce static cling, which is rubbing against your skin when you wear the garment. They are usually heavily scented with synthetic fragrances and may also contain synthetic dyes and other chemicals. Most synthetic dyes and fragrances are made from petroleum by-products or coal tars (a carcinogenic liquid or semi-liquid from bituminous coal). Coal tars can contain benzene, xylene, naphthalene, phenol and creosol. Synthetic fragrances are much less expensive than natural ones, and so are most commonly used. Most have not been tested for safety, or have undergone only minimal testing. Each individual fragrance may be made from up to 4,000 different chemical components. The chemical formulas of fragrances are considered trade secrets and so may be listed on labels only as “fragrance.” HEALTH CONCERNS: Chemical residues left on fabrics can irritate skin and cause allergic reactions. Synthetic fragrances may cause a wide range of acute and chronic effects such as respiratory irritation, headache, sneezing, watery eyes, other allergic symptoms, sensitization, nervous system depression and skin irritation. Nitrobenzene may be used in making synthetic dyes. Nitrobenzene can irritate eyes and skin at low exposure levels, and in larger amounts has damaged liver and blood in animals. Benzene is a known human carcinogen. Naphthalene is a possible human carcinogen that has been linked to cancer in animal tests, and exposure to large amounts may damage or destroy red blood cells. TIPS & ALTERNATIVES: One important thing to note is that natural fabrics don’t produce static cling – only synthetic fabrics do. Therefore you don’t need use fabric softeners on garments made from natural fibers. So if you choose to continue using fabric softeners, reduce your exposure to them by only using them on synthetic garments. And since many synthetic garments can’t be washed or dried in machines, you may not need fabric softeners at all! Baking soda added to laundry acts as a natural fabric softener. If you do use a commercial product, choose an unscented dryer sheet rather than a liquid that goes into the wash or a product that is sprayed on clothes. As a side note, dryer sheets are said to be a great “natural” insect repellent. Since there is nothing “natural” about dryer sheets, we would recommend rubbing a different repellent on your skin to avoid insects…preferably one that actually is natural like peppermint or citronella oil. Back to Index of Terms