Wash your new clothes before wearing them

Not that it makes them more environmental-friendly, not at all, but it's healthier.

New clothes contain a lot of chemical, toxic substances. Whether they are pesticides used to grow cotton or used later as pigments or to give the cloth some properties (make them wrinkle free or prevent mildew during shipping for example), these substances can be responsible for allergies, irritations, nausea. In the worst case it can even affect reproductive systems.

This is why you should always wash new clothes, especially children's, underwears and bed sheets.
This is also the reason why second hand clothes are definitely safer and cleaner : because they have been washed so many times that chemicals are gone. Definitely a good option, at least for children.

Another one is to buy organic clothes, also because their carbon footprint is far less important than clothes made with conventionnally-grown cotton. I guess I will have to write an entire article about that too. By the way good news! H&M sell organic-cotton underwear!

Washing new clothes is also a good way to remove extra dye (which you don't want to see on your new white couch or other clothes).

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