Wearing Clothes That Are This Color Could Cause Some Health Problems
When clothes shopping, what is it that draws you to a particular item? Is it the cut, the texture, or the pattern? For many, it's the color. If you have a favorite color, have you ever thought about what it is about that color that attracts you? As it turns out, colors can impact us in far more ways than just being appealing to the eye.
Colors have the ability to influence our emotional state. They can prompt any number of emotions including serenity, creativity, and even anger. According to the London Image Institute, warmer colors such as yellow and orange are associated with feelings of confidence, success, and happiness. On the other hand, cooler colors, such as blues and purples, evoke peace and spirituality. Even the darkest colors like black are linked to sophistication and formality.
While colors can clearly influence our mental health, they can influence our physical health as well. As it turns out, the chemical makeup of one color, in particular, may be cause for concern when it comes to our health.
Yellow dyes may contain harmful chemicals
While it may be great for our emotions, clothing that's yellow in color may pose some serious risks to our physical health. In a study conducted by Rutgers University, researchers detected the presence of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 11 in yellow dyes used for coloring clothing items and other products (via Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Exposure to this chemical can be dangerous, so much so that its production has been banned in the U.S. since the 1970s.
PCBs are toxic chemicals that can impact reproductive health, immunity, nervous system health, and have been linked to neurological deficits, as well as cancer, as per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "PCBs cause a whole range of really worrisome health problems," Lisa Rodenburg, associate professor at Rutgers and study author, said on "Good Morning America." "There is enough evidence that there could be health effects from this specific kind of PCB that we should investigate further." (via ABC News)
Because it's impossible for consumers to simply avoid all yellow clothing items, Rodenburg feels additional research is needed and believes further action should be taken by lawmakers. "Technically speaking these PCBs are banned," Rodenburg added. "These chemical pigments are covered under TOSCA. It is just [that] they are allowed at very low levels."
While not all yellow manufactured products contain this chemical, shoppers have every right to clothing that is both safe and healthy.