Are fluorescent whitening agents in textiles really harmful?

1. Non-fluorescence is a marketing and hype behavior of many businesses

In order to promote their products, some businesses promote their products to be free of fluorescent whitening agents and promote that fluorescent whitening agents are harmful to achieve their own business goals, but in fact there is a lack of strong scientific evidence. The statements about difficult degradation, ecological impact, and carcinogenicity are all one-sided. In order to attract attention, the media also reported extensively, causing the public to have a psychological misunderstanding of fluorescent whitening agents.

2. Fluorescent whitening agents can be found everywhere around us

For example, the printing paper, toilet paper, laundry detergent and washing powder we often use at home mostly contain fluorescent whitening agents. Detergents, papermaking, and textiles are the three major users of fluorescent whitening agents.

3. Research on the safety of fluorescent whitening agents in the 1960s

Since the 1960s, people have begun to question the environmental impact of fluorescent whitening agents and their safety to the human body. International research on the toxicological effects of fluorescent whitening agents has begun, and the results show that several typical fluorescent whitening agents do not show obvious toxicity to various test organisms.

Researchers have analyzed the possible toxicity of various fluorescent whitening agents from various angles, including what dose will produce acute toxicity; whether it is irritating to the skin and mucous membranes; the possibility of carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity after long-term contact; whether it may cause allergies; whether it will accumulate in animals, etc. The test results show that there is no evidence that such substances have irritating, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic effects, allergic effects, etc.

4. There are no restrictions on fluorescent whitening agents in relevant textile safety standards

There are no restrictions on fluorescent whitening agents in the National Basic Safety Technical Specifications for Textile Products GB18401-2010. There are no restrictions on fluorescent whitening agents in Class A baby products, so mothers don’t have to talk about fluorescent color changes in baby products.

There are no restrictions on fluorescent whitening agents in the latest EU REACH regulations.

5. Some customers have migration fastness requirements for products using fluorescent whitening agents

Because fluorescent whitening agents are not easily detected by the naked eye, some high-end customers have migration fastness requirements for textiles using fluorescent whitening agents.

6. The selection of fluorescent whitening agents for textiles also needs attention

When selecting whitening agents, printing and dyeing factories need to check whether the fluorescent whitening agents contain banned substances, just like selecting dyes and auxiliaries.