Thanks!

You’re right that rPET would contain antimony (85% of all virgin polyester is made using antimony as a catalyst), but I think most of the research finds that antimony’s not a danger if it is in a fabric, because the molecules are bound together chemically – it doesn’t become a free agent. So the thinking is that the toxic element is there, it’s just not available to be ingested – the baby sleeping with the toy would not be harmed by the antimony in that toy at that moment But think about the long term effect of using this plastic: it will not degrade – it will just break down into smaller and smaller pieces, some of which will find their way into our food chain.) There is a real danger to our environment, thru the release of the excess antimony in the mill effluent and again as antimony trioxide – which happens whenever the polymers are heated (as in polyester recycling, or during end of life burning at landfills). Another source of pollution is in the mill sludge, which can contain very high levels of antimony. So also think about the kind of world we want to leave this peacefully sleeping baby.

And especially because you’re producing a product that will be used by young children we think it’s important to think about the effect that antimony just might have on children. The literature is full of chemicals that the government and others told us were safe, only to be told further down the line that they weren’t. Look at lead: in 1971, the U.S. Surgeon General said that 60 mg of lead in a deciliter of blood was a safe level. In 1985 they reduced that to 25 mg, then in 1991 it was reduced to 10 mg and now we know that any detectable level of lead will shave off IQ points. Antimony causes cancer in mice and they know that exposure is cumulative- do you want it in your home, even if it IS bound in the polymer? And what if they’re wrong?

I’m working on a line of children’s stuffed toys and was considering using a fleece made from recycled plastic (similar to Patagonia) or an organic cotton fleece.

rPET fleece is extremely flammable and I don’t want to add a fire retardant. I am also concerned a baby sleeping with a rPET fleece toy might be at risk for absorbing antimony. Do you think that is a possibility?

It’s hard to give a specific weight for a hemp fabric that would be durable – if it looks to you like a sturdy fabric and it has a certain heft, then you should be good to go. If the fabric looks flimsy, or you can see thru it – then probably not.

Hemp has been given a bad rap because it IS a difficult fiber to work with. It can also be very coarse and scratchy, as you say. It takes an extra effort to make the hemp fibers soft, and until recently nobody was willing to spend the time and money on a fiber that many people wouldn’t consider buying because they equated it with rope. (By the way, hemp fibers soften and become more lustrous as they age, so old hemp fabrics are often very soft with a wonderful hand). Add to that the fact that you can’t even grow hemp in the United States, so research was spent on our best cash crop – cotton. And none of the mills in the U.S. could spin hemp, so it became the forgotten fiber.

It’s possible to find hemp fibers blended with other, softer fibers, such as cotton or viscose.

About hemp, so which weight would be durable for rug rats? Why is some hemp you feel on sofas scatchy?

Backing the cotton fabric will help with durability. There are several backings you could use, each involving tradeoffs:
• A cotton knit backing (tradeoff: the cotton is probably not organic, and the adhesive used to glue the backing to the face should be nontoxic, and these are rare)
• A polyester backing: (tradeoff: this renders both the polyester and the cotton non-recyclable – really a moot point, but worth considering + issues surrounding use of plastics). Some would say why do this to a natural fiber, but which is better: a polyester backing on a natural fiber fabric or a polyester fabric (using more polyester)?
I don’t know about the cost to you for the backings; they would certainly increase the cost of the fabric!

Regarding the antimony in your fabric – if the fabric was made from polyester (which has the least toxic profile of all the synthetics) then the chances of it having antimony were pretty high, since 90% of the PET produced worldwide uses antimony as a catalyst in the production of the PET.

If they don’t use antimony as a catalyst they have to use something else, like Titanium. Not very many companies are taking the time and effort to change their manufacturing cycles, nor can they. It’s a huge investment to change the production process. There are very few companies that DO offer antimony free polyester, like Victor Innovatex which produces EcoIntelligent polyester, or Teijin in Japan. If I were buying a polyester I’d buy the antimony free polyester. But please remember that the EcoIntelligent polyesters are NOT recycled polyesters – they’re virgin polyester. So again you have to make a trade off – use the higher energy cost in producing the product, or have the toxins released into our ecosystem at some point during the product’s life. That’s why I think we need to give people better choices.

The cost to reupholster and fabric is so expensive so I opted for a recycled poly fabric for duarability since I was so neverous about having to redo these couches again. I went with longevity. They told me no antimony was used in creating the fabric, but I am not sure they knew. At the time, there was not an organic cotton out there that had enough rubs. Would backing a cotton fabric helped with durability? Would it be much more expensive?

What are you thoughts on the Eco intelligent recycle polys?