Are there 8000 chemicals in your underwear?

There is a reason the textile industry is known to be the most polluting industry in the world, after the oil industry. In this blog, we will focus on the absurd facts surrounding this industry. We will also share with you why we believe our organic cotton products to be a great alternative for the environment, our workers, and for you the customer.

Doesn’t that sound absurd?

When we look at the numbers, we can see it is a scary industry we work in.

•    The cotton industry accounts for 25% of the total consumption of insecticides and 10% of pesticide consumption, despite cotton production only being 2.5% of the total farming production.
   
•    Furthermore, the textile industry uses as many as 8000 chemicals!! Yes, 8000!!!   There is no surprise the treatment and dyeing of textiles accounts for 17-20% of industrial water pollution, according to The World Bank.

We think that is absurd, therefore, at DILLING we only offer organic cotton products. For this reason, we have chosen to keep what we refer to as ‘Villy’s expensive hobby’, our Nordic Swan Ecolabel certified dyeworks in Bredsten. It was out former director, Villy Bertelsen, who insisted that our dyeworks stay in operation.

At DILLING, we never compromise on quality. We would never use 8000 chemicals in the production of a product you wear directly on your skin. This number of chemicals isn’t necessary. We promise to only use chemicals that have been approved by the Nordic Ecolabel, therefore we can be certain that they will not be harmful to neither you nor the environment.



Here you see the river Bandi in India. The many colors are due to pollution from the textile industry in the background.

Villy’s expensive hobby

We refer to L.P.Hansen’s Succ. Textile Dyeworks as ‘Villy’s expensive hobby’ because the dyeworks run at an annual deficit. Therefore, it is not the finances but rather the passion for a clean and environmentally friendly product that keeps our dyeworks alive.

Can organic cotton save lives?

According to WHO , at least one million individuals are hospitalised every year with acute pesticide poisoning, of which 200,000 die. One of the main culprits is the conventional cotton industry. In third world countries where cotton is predominantly grown, pesticides are often to the crop with a backpack pump and no safety equipment.

But, at DILLING, we don’t have to look far to see examples of what a dirty textile industry can do to our employees. Our master dyer, Birthe, has suffered as a result of the harmful chemicals used in materials. In the video below, you can hear about Birthe’s experiences with allergies and how it kickstarted our desire for a cleaner production process.

What does all this mean for you?

We have discussed why DILLING’s organic cotton underwear is a good for the environment and the people who work within the production process, but what does this mean for you?

Quite simply, you will receive and extraordinarily clean and skin-friendly product that you don’t need to worry about when your child is sucking on their sleeve. You also don’t need to wash the product before wearing it as there are no traces of harmful chemicals that need to be washed out of the clothing.

This also means that if you have sensitive skin, DILLING’s organic cotton is a perfect choice. This is occasionally confirmed to us when customers get in touch with us to share their stories. This is what Ann-Lise and Dorte did. It makes us very happy when we hear about how our products have contributed to making a difference in people’s everyday lives. This shows us that we are onto something good.