We’ve been hearing and reading a lot about forever chemicals lately and the facts are pretty scary. They’re everywhere. In our skincare products, cleaning products, food products and even clothes. And like the name suggests these are chemicals that last within a product forever.

For most of the above categories, an ingredients list is mandatory. However, for fashion it isn’t. There is no rule that requires clothing to list anything except fabric composition. Meaning, lots of the clothes we are wearing - particular synthetic fabrics and athletic or performance wear - could and probably do have toxic chemicals in them that could be absorbed into our skin and have affects our health.

Chemicals can be used in most things but whilst cleaning, beauty and food products come with a detailed ingredient list, fashion does not! 

Since underwear is worn against the most private parts of your body, and in the case of our knickers likely worn for the longest amount of time, the absence of toxic chemicals in our lingerie was taken very seriously when developing Videris and has informed the fabric we use and the certifications we have. We use Tencel™, a sustainable, breathable and super-soft material made from wood-pulp. All our lingerie is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified which guarantees every component of every bra and knicker have been rigorously tested against a list of up to 350 harmful chemicals.

All our lingerie is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified which guarantees every component of every bra and knicker have been rigorously tested against a list of up to 350 harmful chemicals.

There are so many individual components in our bras and each comes from a specialist supplier. Requiring that each component is certified OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 gives me peace of mind that every piece of material or trim we use is free of harmful substances such as heavy metals, toxic dyes, and carcinogenic substances. Some of these toxic chemicals - such as Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs) - remain in polyester-based lingerie and clothing and are nearly impossible to wash out. These NPEs can break down into endocrine-disrupting chemicals which can interfere with your hormones. Other toxic chemicals like PFA's and BPA's are widely used in clothing and can be used in garments including yoga pants and sports bras.

What does Oeko Tex Standard 100 mean?

STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified products have been tested for harmful substances to protect your health. Tested for Toxic Chemicals. This label certifies that every component of the product, from the fabric to the thread and accessories, has been rigorously tested against a list of up to 350 toxic chemicals.

Our Founder Chloé talking about Forever Chemicals and her development process to ensure Videris lingere has no nasties

How do you minimize the risk of Forever Chemicals and other toxins in your lingerie?

1. Buy lingerie made from natural materials and botanic firbes: Tencel™, cotton, modal and hemp as much as possible. The high levels of Forever chemical concentrations were found in clothing made from majority polyester.
2. Read the composition on the label and online. If natural materials are less than 50% of the composition, there is a greater risk of chemicals.
3. Look for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification.
4. Avoid washing polyester-rich clothing and lingerie with your safe certified items.

Here are a few exerpts from a recent article in the The Guardian that we found interesting

The Center for Environmental Health in California has found high levels of the hormone-disrupting chemical BPA in polyester-spandex socks and sports bras by dozens of large brands, including Nike, Athleta, Hanes, Champion, New Balance, and Fruit of the Loom, at up to 19 times California’s safety limit."

This year, the period panty brand Thinx settled a lawsuit stemming from a test by a Notre Dame professor showing high levels of fluorine, indicating the presence of PFAS, a highly toxic class of “forever chemicals” that provide water and stain repellency.

For all the evidence, however – the toxic test results that are piling up, the researchers and advocates in the North America and Europe ringing the alarm, the reports of skin burns from shoes, tights, and bras on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website – this is an extremely difficult subject to make conclusive statements about, and an unpopular area of scientific research.

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