All-cotton refers to stuffing or fabric consisting of 100%-cotton fibers. However, this term doesn’t always mean such items are all-natural or nontoxic. Because of conventional American farming practices, cotton production uses tremendous quantities of pesticides, herbicides and other toxic agricultural chemicals. Inevitably, some residues from these compounds get on cotton fibers.
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In addition to chemical contamination acquired through cultivation, wrinkle-resisting chemicals (which can be
formaldehyde-based resins), synthetic dyes, stain-resistant treatments and other compounds are often added to cotton fibers during the milling process. As a result, all-cotton fabric can be, in many cases, very chemically laden.
Also keep in mind, items labeled “made with organic cotton” might not be 100% organic cotton.
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