Do you shop at Abercrombie and Fitch? Then you shouldn’t wash your clothes
I know that sounds gross but chemicals in clothing can break down in water into hormone-disrupting nonylphenol. Please avoid getting this stuff into the waterways and if you can't help but wash your clothers, then purchase clothing from companies that do not use nonylphenol-producing chemicals (called nonylphenol ethoxylates, or NPEs). Check this infographic - and here for a larger view - and the Greenpeace study, Dirty Laundry that calls out the specific brands.
Here's the Greenpeace's analysis for the bigger brands:
- Abercrombie & Fitch: 3 positive results, out of 3 samples tested
- Adidas: 4 out of 9
- Calvin Klein: 3 out of 4
- Converse: 5 out of 6
- Gap: 0 out of 2
- H&M: 4 out of 6
- Lacoste: 1 out of 4
- Nike: 5 out of 10
- Puma: 7 out of 9
- Ralph Lauren: 3 out of 4