Easy iron and non iron shirts

 

I get asked about the pros and cons of both quite a lot. And the truth is we have evolved into a easy iron consumer market quite rapidly over the last 10 years without much fuss. And they do serve a purpose. They make it easier for the rushed gentleman to launder his shirts and have them looking pretty good thanks to the easy iron process.

My issue is the reason these shirts are easy iron. In 2010 the Government Accountability Office did a study into the effects of easy iron or wrinkle free products. The reason they did this is because there was some evidence for irrational from the effects easy iron has. The resin that forms the coating, which is dipped and then baked on to fabrics before being made into the product needed (in this case shirts), released the chemical Formaldehyde. 

In most cases good washing will treat this but there is no regulation at present for products that will rest against the skin and we are left to trust the companies and manufacturers to self regulate the safety levels of these items. 

A lot of products round the house contains these things, bed linen, baseball caps, drapes, upholstery. Even shampoo may contain it. The problem is things like shirts that are against our skin for most of the day are not labelled for you to see and we still have no idea about long term effects that it may have.

To be honest, I feel that the risk should be reasonably low if you wash thoroughly before you wear but think it is still unknown to most this chemical to skin contact and will not likely soon be changed as to consumer communication protocol. 

It is not just for this reason that I do not done easy iron if avoidable. Mostly I sincerely prefer the fit and ability to style my perfect shirt rather then be told what fashion decides looks and feels good. But it does hold me back from advising gentlemen to buy only these cheaper goods. 

So, make sure you was any new easy iron or wrinkle free shirts, but also pay attention to bed linen and caps as these are rarely washed before contact with skin. 

Lastly, if you get itchy or come up in blisters after contact with your shirts you may be affected by the irritant so would suggest searching for some off the peg easy iron free cottons and see if this helps. 

Or do your body a real favour and get tailored. They are the best and nothing quite feels good enough again when you have finally gotten a well fitted gorgeous feeling shirt against your skin.

Tailor Dan