A Review: Sustainable Material Selection for Children’s Wear

Abstract

In this mini-review article, the health and safety concerns of textiles used for children’s wear were discussed including topics such as the adverse impacts of inappropriate clothing materials, fabric dyestuffs, and common textile wet processing. In the selection of fiber materials to use in children’s wear, usually it is best to use natural fibers to best prevent skin irritation or potential damage to children’s bodies through the dermal absorption of toxic chemicals. Rather than synthetic fibers, there are a few safer alternatives such as organic cotton, hemp, or lyocell fibers. Fabrics selected for children’s wear should be lightweight, breathable, soft, and gentle on the skin, and have some stretch to accommodate the children’s growth and playing activities. Moreover, applying natural and low-impact dyes to children’s clothing would be a sustainable practice to minimize the adverse impacts caused by conventional textile dyeing throughout the product life cycle of a garment.