Formaldehyde in textiles, which is also commonly referred to as permanent resin, is used to provide wrinkle resistance in cotton-based textiles (100{fb5829f531bbe8a03505a61f24562bab2c90d6fe84e51abcf3fb366c55bba585} cotton or cotton-polyester blend fabrics). Long-term exposure to formaldehyde in textiles can cause skin hypersensitivity which can lead to dermatitis, which is also specifically referred to as textile dermatitis. The American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS) in 2015 declared formaldehyde as a contact allergen.

The European Ecolabel (Commission Decision 2002/371/EC) and the private Oeko-Tex Standard 100, which consider ecological and consumer protection criteria. The limit is 300 mg/kg for textiles not in direct contact with the skin and decorative materials in both schemes. For textiles in direct contact with the skin, Ecolabel established a limit of 30 mg/kg and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 set 75 mg/kg. Moreover, Oeko-Tex Standard 100 established a limit for textiles for babies which should release less than 20 mg/kg of formaldehyde.

How SIG can help

SIG laboratory is capable of analyzing the formaldehyde levels in textile matrices and textile toys. We offer a test method based on the standard ISO 14184-1: 2015

Method of Analysis

Colorimetric technique with  spectrophotometer was used to measure the levels of formaldehyde extracted from the sample/fabric specimens.