Is polyester not good?

[lkmiscnet]

I have a 6 mo old and wanted to try and use natural/green toys and fabrics.

However, I have been given quite a few polyester toys/blankets and am not sure what the down sides are to that fabric, expecially if he puts it in his mouth. Also, he has fleece jackets that are also polyester. Isn't polyester made of petrochemicals and artificial?

Am I being overly cautious about the fabric or other than the eco issues of producing polyester?

Linda

[Katie T]

My kids wear poly I dont find it to be a big concern. Imo there are a lot of other things to keep them away from as far as chemicals & other health hazards go but to each there own. I know people who are against it & thats fine its a personal choice.

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by Katie T

My kids wear poly I dont find it to be a big concern. Imo there are a lot of other things to keep them away from as far as chemicals & other health hazards go but to each there own. I know people who are against it & thats fine its a personal choice.

[fawnanddoe]

I also agree with KatieT

While it's not my fabric of choice I'm not totally opposed to it. I have some fleece diaper covers, and a lot of my pocket diapers are polyester to some degree.

I'd rather have a polyester fabric over a plastic chew toy.

[sunshynbaby]

I tend to lean towards more natural fibers, but I love the softness and versitility of fleece!

[JMJ]

We try to avoid syntherics as a base layer, and we try to use all organics at night. We have some polyester blankets that are great for floor play or wrapping up to go outside, but they don't go in the bed. As far as plastic toys (including polyester) go, I'd prefer wood or organic cotton, but I'm not going to forbid my child from playing with it. I would just make other toys more accessable.

[CrunchyKnitter]

Originally Posted by fawnanddoe

I also agree with KatieT

While it's not my fabric of choice I'm not totally opposed to it. I have some fleece diaper covers, and a lot of my pocket diapers are polyester to some degree.

I'd rather have a polyester fabric over a plastic chew toy.

I agree with this. I'd rather have other alternatives, but DS just loves his poly Carter's sleepers. So cozy and affordable and there are other things I tend to concentrate on (limiting plastic toys, good nutrition for all of us, etc). Same with diapers, we use BG 3.0s so it's not a natural fabric, but they work great and I feel good about not putting the chemicals and toxic gels on his skin that are in disposables.

Sometimes I have to tell myself 'there are only so many things I can stress about'!

[Aufilia]

I avoid polyesther for clothing (no fleece sleepers here) because it doesn't breathe well and I worry about DS getting too hot and sweaty. But I do love our fleece blankets for covering him or his carseat to keep the wind and rain off him when we're out and about.

[Pookietooth]

I usually buy cotton when possible but we do have polyester diaper covers and outerwear.

[gracemamma]

JMJ &/or others: I'm curious about the no poly in bed idea. I put a cotton sleeper as a base layer & a fleece blanket (around waist) or fleece blanket sleeper on DD. Plus I use a fleece baby blanket to cover my upper body. Are there specific concerns about this? Offgassing? Other issues? I definately want to hear if there are & this falls under pervue of OP's question. Thanks!

[pammysue]

I generally avoid polyester for DS because it does not breath well and he gets hot very easily. We definitely cannot use it at night; he gets so sweaty and cannot sleep.

I do use a thin fleece coat in the winter when we are in the car.

[JMJ]

Originally Posted by gracemamma

JMJ &/or others: I'm curious about the no poly in bed idea. I put a cotton sleeper as a base layer & a fleece blanket (around waist) or fleece blanket sleeper on DD. Plus I use a fleece baby blanket to cover my upper body. Are there specific concerns about this? Offgassing? Other issues? I definately want to hear if there are & this falls under pervue of OP's question. Thanks!

I don't have any studies to cite specific concerns with polyester, but here's about what my thinking is:
Sleep is the time that your body restores itself, not the time it should be fighting with toxic chemicals. It may be soft, but polyester is a plastic. Now, a vinyl crib mattress would be far more important to eliminate than polyester pajamas. We use all organic cotton/organic wool/natural latex mattresses, organic wool puddle pads, organic cotton sheets, and an organic wool blanket. DD sleeps in organic cotton with an organic wool sleep sack (unless she crashes while wearing something else. It's not worth waking her up.), sometimes under some of our covers with us. We also made a point to have several plants in the room.

Now, we're not a perfect as we'd like to be. DH and I don't have organic pajamas yet, some of the furniture in the room certainly off-gasses formaldehyde, the room is carpeted, and I have no clue what's in the paint. I just think that every bit counts, and I'd like to do what I can to allow my family's bodies to detoxify and rejuvenate during sleep.

[Lilly Milly]

I am in textiles and most of what we make is made of polyester, unfortunately, so I thought I might help out here. Polyester is made from petroleum, so it's not a renewable resource. The process of making it is not green, but not the worst either and does create VOCs. Recycled polyester is an improvement in regards to renewable resources though. Polyester does off-gas some, but not terribly like PVC. It is easy to care for though so that can lead to less energy use than cotton over time, but not neccessarily.

I use it some (in nighttime diapers and diaper covers) for convenience and a few clothes, but really cotton and wool are better, particularly if you can find organic. Wool is nice because you don't have to launder it as often and as hot as cotton, but it is cost prohibitive for me right now.

Bottom line for me is that I try to limit Polyester, but when it offers needed performance benefits I just try to make sure it is something I use over and over again so that I am not wasteful about it.

One day I hope I don't have to use it so much in my work.

[gracemamma]

Great info and food for thought JMJ & Lilly Milly- thank you! And thanks OP for starting this thread!

[Lilly Milly]

Thought of a couple things to add:

First, about fire retardancy you sometimes hear about re sleepwear...a lot of people don't know that Fire Retardant treatments are probably bad as far as off-gassing, rubbing off, etc. They are not a part of the fiber, but an added treatment (sprayed or dipped on, heated in, etc) and are therefore not too stable. So be wary of any cotton that is treated to be FR. It is not inherent (polyester can be inherently fire-retardant but all of it is not). Wool is naturally fire-retardant with no added treatment.

Second, as previously mentioned, vinyl/PVC is terrible for off-gassing, but if you need it or have some already, it is better if old or hand-me-down because it off-gases much less over time.

Plants in the room is a SUPER idea!!! I need to do that for my LO.

[JMJ]

Another thing on fire. Natural fibers will burn up. Synthetic fibers will melt to your skin if they're not fireproof. Ouch!