Synthetic Fabrics & Stench-Producing Bacteria

If you want to improve your body’s aroma after a workout, stay away from synthetic polyester workout wear. Synthetic workout wear has become popular because it’s lightweight and fast-drying. But there is a downside to opting for synthetics over cotton, especially for those working out around you!

Certain fabrics will make you grow more stench producing bacteria than others, although it’s not the fabric itself that’s to blame. It turns out that Micrococcus bacteria prefer the open-air lattice of synthetic fibers over cotton, according to new research by Chris Callewaert (aka “Dr. Armpit”) and colleagues.

Because these odor-causing bacteria prefer to propagate on polyester and not cotton, you might want to choose your workout gear according. The industry is well aware of this problem and some companies are adding toxic chemicals that will reduce staining and slow down the bacterial reproduction, but they may also be causing you additional health problems that you didn’t bargain for. After all, you are working out to get healthy, not sick! Those chemicals include perfluorinated compounds, triclosan and nanoparticles of silver, which can all also cause environmental issues.

The research, which was published in Scientific American, reported that the odor-causing bacteria Micrococcus were isolated in almost all synthetic shirts and were detected almost solely on synthetic shirts as compared to cotton.

Natural cotton clothing is important for helping you reduce odors, but you might be surprised to learn that cotton is considered the world’s dirtiest crop due to the cotton industry’s heavy use of hazardous herbicides and insecticides, According to the Organic Trade Association, so if you go cotton, you should go organic.

Do You Want Clothes That are Toxin-Free?

Pure, non-toxic clothing isn’t too much to ask for, right? Greenpeace has lot of information on toxin-free clothing. Nike, Adidas, Puma, H&M, and C&A are among the clothing brands that have already committed to the Greenpeace toxin-free clothing. Many top brands still need some persuading.

You can “detox” your wardrobe using these tips from Greenpeace:

1. Buy organic clothing
2. Support “green” brands that use environmentally friendly fabrics and natural dyes, or make clothing from recycled materials
3. Buy secondhand clothes, and when buying new choose “classics” that you can wear again and again
4. Buy quality clothing items that are made to last, instead of cheaply made garments you’ll be forced to replace often
5. Before tossing a garment, fix it if possible (with a new zipper/buttons, etc.) or take it to a tailor (or be crafty yourself!) to be re-fashioned (turning a dress into a skirt or jeans into shorts, for instance)

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The Greenpeace Detox Campaign