There are just some words that are as much fun to say as they are hard to spell. According to Merriam-Webster (publishing great definitions since 1828, you know) ubiquitous means “existing or being everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread.” I can’t think of a time of year where more of us are working through a ubiquitous fashion problem than we are right now: like what the heck are we going to do with those hideous Christmas socks we got this past weekend?
For starters, please don’t just offhandedly toss them into the trash. Not only will your Aunt Karen be bummed (it’s been a bad year for Karens anyway), you’ll be messing with the environment unnecessarily. Again.
We’ve talked about it frequently here but allow me just one more Auld Lang Syne mention of the fact that more than 60 percent of our clothes are made with synthetic textiles derived from oil, and remind again of the profoundly deep impact manufacturing these textiles has on our climate, you know, that global warming thing. Heading into 2022, we’ll be talking about the shift to more and more electric and hybrid vehicles, and we aren’t the only ones who will be aware that demand for fossil fuels will flatten as the economy moves toward electric vehicles and renewable energy sources. The major petrochemical producers will likely look to replace profits made from selling oil and gas to making profits by meeting needs for increasing amounts of plastics, fertilizers, and other petrochemical-based products — and cheap plastic socks.
Recently, the Center for Environmental Health published a study detailing that even small socks made for babies can be loaded with BPA, up to 31 times the safe limit under California environmental law. Studies have shown that BPA can be absorbed through the skin and, since socks are worn for hours at a time, it is concerning to have the CEH find such high levels of BPA, particularly in those made for babies and children.
We’ve discussed the negative effects of BPA many times, the fact that our industry was among the first to go “BPA-Free,” and that the chemicals that replaced the original BPA products were possibly not any better, and perhaps even worse. While the jury is still out with complete findings, we do know that BPA mimics human hormones, those chemical messengers that can tell a child when to go into puberty, but also could tell a woman to go into menopause at age 25. There are studies suggesting they signal cancer cells to grow. Research has shown that early life exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals like BPA can increase the risk of infants developing a range of diseases during childhood, and then also later into adulthood. Exposure to these chemicals during critical periods of growth can change the development of reproductive organs and have harmful effects on immune system function and metabolic disorders.
Back to the Center for Environmental Health study for a moment. It is important to note that when CEH tested socks made from different blends of polyester, cotton, and spandex, high levels of BPA were found only in the socks made from polyester with spandex. The CEH took those results and filed lawsuits against 84 plastic sock brands, including Adidas, Champion, GAP, Hanes, New Balance and Reebok. Already some companies have responded and are working collaboratively with the CEH to begin the process of removing BPA from their products.
So, according to the CEH, their goal is to force the entire apparel sector to remove BPA from our sock drawers. A lofty goal indeed, but really does it seem any more challenging than getting Aunt Karen to buy organic next holiday season?