Non Flame Resistant Pajamas Everywhere?

I actually seek out non-flame resistant pajamas for my daughter. The chemicals used to make the fabric flame resistant will leach out and be absorbed through your childs skin.

For years TRIS has been used in Pajamas, until it was banned in 1977 for causing cancer.
After that PBDE's were the retardant of choice for textile applications. That stuff accumulates in the food chain and has been implicated in effects on brain development and possible environmental effects, especially in large predators (whales for example). Through direct exposure and the food chain they also accumulate in human fatty tissue and are excreted in breast milk...mother with high levels of PBDE's will pass on the chemicals to their children, long after the chemicals have been banned (they have been phased out in 2004)
Nowadays most fabrics are treated with PROBAN. The chemicals to to produce it are linked to genetic defects, damage to liver, skin and nervous systems. It might also cause cancer.

If your child wears a tight fitting sleeping garment and you practice common sense fire prevention you should be fine without exposing your child to potentially dangerous chemicals.
Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

I think they only include those tags for liability purposes. Just because something is not flame retardant doesn't mean it's more flammable than anything else one would normally wear. It would never occur to me to specifically purchase flame retardant clothes. Besides, even if you did, the coating that they use would wash off after a couple of times in the laundry. Your efforts are better spent making sure your child isn't in a situation where his clothes, flame retardant or not, would catch fire in the first place.

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Read up on PBDE toxicity and danger to children before you put those jammies on your children. Flame-retardant chemicals may well be phased out of all kids clothing in coming years, because their toxicity is proven, not only in children but in the general environment, and they have been found in children's blood in much higher concentrations than in their parents.

Here's one link to get you started: http://www.ewg.org/reports/pbdesintoddlers

Danger of clothing catching fire is iffy, and can be effectively addressed in other ways. Danger of PBDE exposure is real and constant.

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The chemicals that make the pajamas flame resistant are nasty and can be absorbed through the skin. Since our children are exposed to SO many non tested chemicals, it's nice to be able to stay away from those we know we should avoid-flame retardants being in that category.

1 mom found this helpful

I actually avoid flame resistant stuff because of the chemicals. I've always tried to buy cotton sleepwear, since nylon can melt to your skin if exposed to flame.

1 mom found this helpful

My oldest is almost 8 and I don't remember these tags ever NOT being on pajamas. I think pretty much every pair I've ever bought has had this tag, it's not a new thing. If you can find some that actually are flame resistant that's great but I think you're going to find the tag more often than not.

Good luck,
K.

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Flame resistant jammies are loaded with chemicals... I NEVER buy them if I can help it. They have so many bad things on them it's terrible. So you should always buy non flame resistant ones.

You don't walk around in flame resistant clothes all day... jammies shouldn't be any different, it's kinda silly to me, especially when they are laced with terrible chemicals that you wear and are soaking into your skin.

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I don't like the idea of flame resistant jammies. I don't want the chemicals they use to treat the fabric next to my kids' skin for 10+ hours each night. Instead of traditional jammies we opt for shorts or long pants made out of jersey and t shirts.

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I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they quit using flame retardants on children's clothing because the chemicals used were found to be toxic, or something of the sort.

Generally speaking, the flame resistant PJs are polyester. The ones w/ the tags indicating it's not flame resistant are 100% cotton PJs which are much healthier to sleep in. It's getting more and more difficult finding 100% cotton PJs. Thank God my boys are getting older that they can sleep in their 100% cotton undershirts & boxers.

Cosmetoligist for 20+ yr. bought an iron once that stated on tag, do not use while asleep. The warning lables are because someone sued them, any artical of clothing will burn if you are in fact on fire. Also the fabric softners used will generally make any item of clothing now flamible, that was non flamible before putting fabric softner in dryer, or washer. Hope this helps. While waittressing the 100% cotton shirts needed for work were expensive, but the polyester blend was cheaper. Difference the polyester, is made of plastic, and melts if you spill coffee ectra on arm while working. Cotton will protect you and not melt into your skin, if you get burned.

I agree with the rest of the moms, i don't want flame retardant on my kids pj in fact my kids sleep in a t-shrt and then pj bottoms. Those chemicals are bad stuff and causing all kinds of dangers and diseases.

even if you do buy flame resistant jammies the stuff that makes them flame resistant is washed off especially if you use softener or dryer sheets so they are technically useless anyway. I go for comfort and cuteness :)

You don't want the flame resistant ones. It's good that they are selling the non flame resistant ones now. They used to be hard to find, which is awful because they douse them with the chemicals that make them resistant to flames and that is absorbed into the child's bloodstream. So much has that on it now, and it's building up in our bodies. Do research on it and you will be aghast at all that we have in our bodies- cancer causing chemicals from flame retardants. It's really scary. But the ones that have the tags or buy organic cotton. We so need to make that the norm. Cotton crops are the worst pollluters or the environment.

It is a law.

http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/ffa.html

Would you really want your child sleeping in pj's that were coated with that toxic stuff they used to put on sleepwear? It's extremely bad for us and the enviroment. I think it should all be illegal including clothes for adults. Another thing is I recently bought my husband some new Docker's dress work pants, almost every pair I looked at was wrinkle resistant. I finally found two pairs that didn't have that nasty stuff in the fabric but had to go to several stores.

So, do you like to sleep in tight pjs? It's just one more "government in your face" thing. They are trying to "protect" everyone from themselves. True, loose fitting pjs could float by the stove or a candle or someone's lit cigarettte...how close are your kids to those things anyway, if at all? When my girls were little they are 31, 28 and 26...amazingly they survived their toddlerhood without warning labels all over the place. The flame retardent pjs were just starting then. Go with cute, warm and comfy...I am sure you will keep them safe without anyone warning you!

I think for childrens PJs that the companys by law have to say they are flame resistant or not.

Personally I do not pay attention if the PJs are flame resistant or not, but just looking at my daughters PJs none of them are flame resistant which is fine with me, one less chemical that her body has to clean up.

Most likely the PJ's have not changed; but, the law for labeling has. I never worry about whether my son's PJ's are flame resistant.

There's a lot of concern right now that the chemicals they use to make garments and furniture flame-retardent are not safe for our kids, ourselves, or the environment. I'm fairly sure they are going to stop treating kids pj's with these chemicals. But like it says, get snug-fitting and you should be fine!

Hi,
In my opinion it is better not to have the flame retardant on your childs clothing. Essentially it is a chemical that is applied and who knows the effects this chemical can have on kids. I think the chances of your child catching fire are very small and the health issues of our over exposure to harmful chemicals are just now being brought to light (ie. BPA's, pesticides, etc).

I actually stay away from flame resistent PJs for my kids because they are coated in chemicals (but it is becoming next to impossible to find non-flame resistant! Only Old Navy and Gap have them consistently - and Carters still carries them too). In my opinion, if the flame is close enough to my child to touch the PJs then a flame resistent material isn't likely to make much of a difference. I know that sounds morbid but I'd rather have my kids in cotton PJs than something with chemicals.

Like other posters have said, the tag is because of a law.