After the major children’s retailer, Bentex, was forced to recall 87,000 Disney themed garments due to lead poisoning concerns, we’re forced to question whether we really know what our clothes are made of. Could we, as consumers, be contributing to a corrupt production process that’s only putting our health and wellbeing at risk? The Future Fashion Fair team investigates the Bentex controversy, uncovering the disturbing secrets behind the fast fashion industry.

On the 23rd November 2022, 9 different Disney-themed clothing designs - featuring well-loved characters like Minnie Mouse, Baby Yoda and Winnie the Pooh - were immediately recalled due to a lead poisoning hazard. It was revealed that the textile ink painted onto Bentex’s Disney-themed garments contained levels of lead that are above the safe limit - which, in the United States, should be no more than 90 parts per million (0.009%) where the sale of household and decorative paints is concerned.

Bentex supplies to major clothing and household retailers, such as Target, Kohls, JCPenney, The Disney Stores, Hot Topic, TJMAXX, DD’s/Ross, Burlington, Army & Navy and Amazon, meaning that the number of children affected could’ve been extortionate. Parents were urged to get rid of the products as soon as possible, although luckily there have not yet been any injuries reported.

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And it’s not just Disney that has sparked controversy…

Renowned retailers, such as Zaful, AliExpress and Shein, are also known to sell clothes that contain unhealthy levels of lead. However, this doesn’t appear to have impacted their immense popularity, which is concerning.

Exposure to unregulated chemicals not only puts customers at risk, but the garment workers making the products, who are often forced to work in dangerous conditions. Sustainable fashion analytics firm Common Objective estimates 27 million garment workers worldwide might suffer from work-related illness or disease - which could include lead poisoning.

What can unhealthy levels of lead do to the body?

Different levels of exposure to lead can cause a range of health challenges in the brain, kidneys, blood system, and nervous system. According to Health Canada, low-level exposure can result in harmful effects on children's development, potentially stunting growth and reducing IQ. Not only this, lead can cause reproductive problems in adult men, and pregnant women also have to be extremely careful as ingested lead can pass through the placenta, harming the featus. High-level lead exposure can lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, coma, or even death in extreme cases.

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Why are clothing manufacturers using lead?

So, despite the major health and safety concerns that come with lead exposure, why are clothing manufacturers still using it to make their products? To some extent, this is an aesthetics issue, as some claim that without lead, yellow, red, white and green paints can be lower quality and less vivid. In combination with this, fast fashion companies will stop at nothing to keep their costs low - whether that’s using cheaper materials that are harmful to the environment, or underpaying and overworking garment workers. Alongside being exposed to inhumane conditions, the speed at which workers are expected to produce and deliver goods is faster than ever before. This, in turn, impacts the overall quality of the clothes falling into consumer shopping carts.

As much as fast fashion brands are to blame here, a degree of responsibility falls into our hands as consumers. Fashion lovers are purchasing five times more clothing than they did back in the 1980s, which is unsurprising given that we now live in a world that’s ruled by social media. Using Shein’s $100 billion valuation as a prime example, social media helps accelerate this destructive cycle even further, encouraging microtrend-obsessed consumers to purchase cheaper clothes in bulk - which is known as haul buying. In order to cope with dramatic spikes in consumer demand, the quality of the item, and the quality of life for garment workers, have to take a hit. When lead can be used to speed up the drying process and increase durability, allowing garments to retain a fresh appearance, it’s no wonder that issues surrounding health and safety continue to arise.

What is the cost of lead exposure?

Bentex’s Disney garments were made in Egypt, which has no laws in place concerning lead paint. Despite this, research collated by New York University reveals that lead exposure costs the country $17.8b per year (3.41% of GDP), compared with $1.92b per year (0.08% of GDP) in the UK. The data collected emphasises the need for immediate action, and unless drastic measures are taken to prevent lead exposure, children will sadly continue to be affected.

What is happening to remove lead from these supply chains?

As we consider what the future holds for the fast fashion industry, we’d like to think that further action will be taken to remove lead from these supply chains. The main reason being that lead isn’t essential in paint, and there are cost-effective alternatives that work just as well. However, this option may require some initial up-front cost for paint manufacturers to change their formula, which may be off putting to many, so government involvement will make the difference. By introducing new regulations surrounding the use of lead paint, paint manufacturers wouldn’t have to fear that they’d lose out to cheaper competitors - and when that barrier is broken across all countries, it’s likely that the fashion industry will begin to see some positive change.

Furthermore, a general lack of awareness regarding the impact of lead exposure could have a role to play in the breakdown of the country’s fashion industry. Egypt currently has many health challenges to prioritise, which could make lead poisoning easy to miss. However, one particular project that aims to raise awareness with policymakers and paint formulators is the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP). In its first year it has already had success in driving policy change in Malawi; and making progress with several others.

Although the widely adopted view is that regulatory change is a slow process, the case of leaded gasoline tells us a different story. In just four years every country in Sub-Saharan Africa banned it completely, reinforcing the fact that change can happen rapidly. Replicating this success where leaded paint is concerned could be a huge win for global health, and in order to do this, universal activism is required.

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