Azo dyes, quinolines and anilines in clothes - Daily human exposure to hazardous chemicals

The global textile industry utilizes high amounts of numerous chemicals.

We have observed that quinolines and anilines are compounds that often are found at high levels in clothing garments on the consumer market.

The compounds are most likely by-products from disperse azo dyes, used for colouring synthetic materials such as polyester.

Many of these chemicals have proven or suspected carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or skin allergenic effects, and according to preliminary results, the chemicals may stay in the garments even after several laundry cycles. We have detected levels exceeding 1 gram/kilogram in certain common clothes. Azo dyes and anilines are suspected to a play important role in textile allergy, but it is not fully known why and how.

Firstly, knowledge is lacking regarding which azo dyes and anilines that are actually present in textiles on the consumer market, and at what levels. Also, it is not known how easily they can be taken up by human skin from skin-close garments.

We will therefore examine skin absorption using a synthetic skin model (having similar properties as human skin), and also investigate if even more hazardous chemicals may be formed by skin enzymes.

Also, we will use novel and powerful analytical tools to map the occurrence of anilines, quinolines and azo dyes in both new and recycled clothing textiles.

Reuse of textiles that is safe to humans and the environment is a prerequisite for a sustainable circular economy of clothes.