Cotton And Its Role In Skin Hygiene Health
January 25, 2023It is easy to make the assumption that one would be hard pressed to find an individual that did not want, secretly or otherwise - healthy skin. However, in an environment that is (literally) filled with mass produced personal care products such as cosmetics, incontinence and menstrual hygiene pads, diapers and cleansing wipes, finding items that are truly “good” for your skin, as well as the environment, can be a challenge to say the least.
It is human nature to prioritize the products which provide comfort against our skin and don’t leave any rash or harmful effect. Going back to the vein of “safe assumptions” - it would make sense to believe that these results: comfort, safety and a happy overall experience, would go hand in hand with cotton based products that utilize natural elements or processes in their creation. Products that lack harsh chemicals, dyes and synthetics in general, would be safe bets for people of all skin types to use and find happiness in. With the high usage of single use products, we find value in pausing to evaluate the truth in this thought process. Could we be sacrificing our skin's health and the health of our planet for convenience?
In order to figure out the answer to this question, we must first go back in time. A long time ago, most manufacturers used cotton as the main absorbent material in their products but with the development of synthetics it became more cost effective to produce a high amount of health care products that contained very little cotton. Fast forward to the present day and the majority of mass produced products not only contain low levels of cotton, they are laden with plastics, dyes, polymers and other synthetic components. In addition, sometimes harsh chemicals are used to create the sweet smelling fragrances that tend to attract more consumers.
But how do we identify which products are made by following the government’s set rules and guidelines to meet all the needs of our skin care routine? Especially when we learn that personal care products are largely unregulated. The FDA does not even require safety testing of ingredients in personal care products before they are used. You read that correctly. The federal law designed to ensure that personal care products are safe has remained largely unchanged since 1938. Think of all the “innovations” in the personal care industry that have occurred since the late thirties in our country. Yet no update to the law has been done, in light of all the changes to the personal care industry No added safety measures have been tacked on to protect the end consumer. Large corporations mass producing single use hygiene products are banking on this fact staying in the shadows.
Toxic-Free Skin Hygiene Products
In 2020,the National Monitoring for skin health and hygiene held a survey monitoring personal hygiene products indicating that only 40% of 31 samples tested met basic safety requirements. It also showed that menstrual hygiene products and children’s diapers made from cotton are safer for use due to their ability to control moisture, insulate and provide comfort. Beyond that, cotton is also hypoallergenic, weather-proof(applicable for all four seasons) and durable.
Major corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble have argued that there would be tremendous friction involved in shifting consumer behavior away from disposable products to reusable ones. Which makes sense when their product and marketing models are looked at, but begins to lose its accuracy when viewed through the lens of sustainability and the efforts we see every day here at Wazoodle Fabrics from the amazing innovation all of you, our customer family, are creating. The replacement of single use with reusables made from non-toxic materials, finishes, dyes and even fragrance (think essential oils) is a current trend among many eco-conscious consumers. But how do you know that you can trust our cotton fabrics to create these reusable innovations? Let’s take a closer look at the Wazoodle relationship with the cotton plant and all its natural glory.
AKAS Tex & Wazoodle Fabric And U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has brought a great program to the cotton industry and to cotton farms by means of their certification program (take a look below for an example certificate).They provide new cotton sustainability efforts which are aimed at providing standards and verification data to meet the needs of the textile supply chain.
Per the Protocol, a number of key performance indicators and six goals were set for the industry to achieve:
- A 13% increase in land use efficiency
- A 50% reduction in soil loss
- An 18% increase in water use efficiency
- A 15% reduction in energy use
- A 39% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions
- A 30% increase in soil carbon
AKAS Tex & Wazoodle Fabrics uses U.S. grown cotton that is backed by the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. This ensures that the materials used are sustainable and the supply chain behind them is transparent. So transparent in fact, we can use this system to literally trace our cotton fiber to its field of origin. That’s right not only can we tell you which state, which town, we can go so far as to point to a specific field in said town and say “that is where this batch of cotton fiber derived from”.
Here is the basic process: after collection, cotton flowers go through various processes to evolve from a single fiber to the fabric you are using to create your sustainable innovations.
- Ginning (remove seeds,dried leaves and other particles)
- Bale Opener(Opening the compact cotton bundle),
- Blowroom(To further open up the fibers)
- Carding(To align the fabrics in a parallel direction)
- Combing(to remove the short fibers)
- Spinning(to make into a yarn)
- Knitting or weaving to make the fabric
Our priority is to provide only the highest quality to our consumers, as AKAS Tex considers our consumers to be a part of our family and believes in providing only the best quality fabric.
To ensure this high standard, our fabric is made under “Sid’s Supervision”. Sid Sharma, owner of AKAS Textiles, has been a textile engineer for 50 years. In this time period he has gained experience in a number of areas of the industry including but not limited to: cotton spinning, cotton poly blend weaving, yarn dyeing, cotton yarn knitting and the various finishings of knitted fabrics. Under the watchful eye of the cotton trust protocol, as well as Sid, we are able to create and bring to you safe and quality fabrics.
How to Differentiate Between Good And Bad Skin Hygiene Products
Skin care products produced by using either cotton or polyester or other synthetic components, have their good and bad elements. Not all polyesters are bad and not all cotton based products are good. But what makes the difference?
Polyester hygiene products made according to specific rules can be good for skin hygiene, but skin hygiene products like handkerchiefs, cotton rounds, makeup removal pads, menstrual pads and diapers made by cotton are more efficient, because cotton based products are reusable and they last for longer time periods. Most importantly, cotton is easily biodegradable, which means it also plays an important role in keeping our environment safe. On the flip side, only a few polyester based skin hygiene products are able to prove their safety for the environment in this same manner.
How to Get Started With Your Own Reusable Skin Hygiene Products
Wazoodle is the best place to get started on your own reusable and sustainable replacements for your current single use or unsustainable skin products. Check out these skin hygiene fabric finders above or our most popular organic cotton fabrics below. These are some of the most preferred fabrics used by our clients for the creation of the products above like makeup remover pads, face wipes, pads, diapers and much more.
- ProECO Organic Cotton Sherpa
- ProECO Organic Cotton French Terry
- Zorb 3D Organic Cotton Dimple
- ProECO Organic Cotton Interlock
- ProECO Stretch FIT Organic Cotton Jersey
Still not sure what you need to bring your project to life? That is ok, that is what we are here for! Please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer service team. We are happy to help you navigate the products we currently offer or help you innovate a new fabric all together for your application. We can even create your own custom color or print exclusive to you or your company. Click the link below to ask your questions now.
Are you an Eco-Conscious Brand?
We partner with Cotton Inc and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol to bring supply chain transparency to the cotton fiber. We are featuring eco-conscious brands that are using cotton to make skin hygiene products in our Brands Showcase. IF you are interested, please fill out the form below.
Links:
Skin Health Connected To Use Of Absorbent hygiene products
Safety Evaluation Of Absorbent Hygiene Pads
An Overview On Sanitary Napkins
https://www.ewg.org/personal-care-products-safety-act-would-improve-cosmetics-safety