What Is Actually In Your Clothes?

We think about what is in our food

We check our skincare

We swap our cleaning products

We think about what we drink, what we eat and what we put on our faces

But most of us will pull on a pair of leggings at 7am, wear them to train, work, walk, sweat and live in them for hours without ever asking one question

What is actually in the fabric sitting against my skin?

That question is one of the reasons I created CLOCO

And recently, something happened behind the scenes that completely reinforced why I believe the future of women's clothing needs to look very different

Why I started questioning our clothes

Alongside my work at Cloco Health, I have been developing CLOCO because I couldn't find the clothing I wanted to wear myself

I wanted activewear that made me feel incredible when I walked into the gym

I wanted underwear that felt feminine and sexy

But I also wanted to feel confident about what I was putting against my skin

I didn't believe women should have to choose between their health and looking good

So CLOCO was created to sit somewhere different

Beautiful, confidence building clothing with material integrity taken seriously

Our brand strategy has always been to challenge the choice between synthetic performance clothing and natural alternatives that compromise on style, with testing, transparency and women's health at the centre of the brand

But building that has been much harder than I expected

We went through around 80 manufacturers

From the beginning, I was very clear about what I wanted

Before manufacturing, we created requirements outlining substances we did not want within our fabrics and processing

This included certain azo dyes, formaldehyde, phthalates, PFAS, certain heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, optical brighteners and other substances we wanted controlled or avoided

We didn't just ask for organic cotton

Because organic fibre does not automatically mean the finished garment meets every standard we care about

The dyes matter

The finishes matter

The processing matters

The trims matter

The finished garment matters

Our product specifications have included requirements around GOTS organic cotton, OEKO TEX Standard 100 and ECO PASSPORT certified dyes, alongside additional material and safety requirements

We went through around 80 manufacturers trying to find somebody who could meet what we were asking for

Eventually, we found one

They signed our requirements

They supplied documentation

Their own testing came back looking good

For a while, everything seemed to be moving in the right direction

Then something didn't feel right

I decided to test the clothing independently

As we got closer to placing our bulk order, there were a few things that made me lose trust

Nothing dramatic

Just enough for me to question whether I was comfortable moving forward

And I couldn't ignore that feeling

So instead of relying solely on information provided through the manufacturing process, I arranged independent testing here in the UK

Unfortunately, substances we did not want in our clothing were detected

I was gutted

And angry

We had spent so much time getting to this point

But once the initial disappointment passed, I realised something

This is exactly why we test

And why independent verification matters

It would have been easier to accept the paperwork, place the order and move on

But easier isn't the standard I want for CLOCO

Why activewear and underwear matter so much to me

Your skin is an incredibly effective protective barrier, but substances can also penetrate the skin depending on factors including the substance itself, concentration, duration of contact and the condition of the skin

That is why I am particularly interested in clothing that spends long periods sitting directly against the body

Think about your leggings

They're fitted closely to your skin

You're moving in them

You're getting warm

You're sweating

You might wear them for hours

Then think about your underwear

It sits against intimate areas of your body every single day

That doesn't mean your leggings are automatically harming you

And I don't want women becoming frightened of getting dressed

That isn't what CLOCO stands for

The question I ask is much simpler

If I have the opportunity to reduce unnecessary exposure through something I wear every day, why wouldn't I?

That is the thinking behind our approach to non-toxic activewear, non-toxic underwear and hormone safe clothing

What are we actually looking for?

There are several groups of substances I wanted CLOCO to pay particular attention to

Azo dyes

Azo dyes are a huge family of colourants used across the textile industry

Certain azo dyes can break down into restricted aromatic amines, which is why particular azo colourants are regulated

Creating very dark fabrics can require significant dye chemistry, particularly when that colour needs to withstand washing, friction and sweat

I wasn't prepared to accept the words "non-toxic dye" without asking what that actually meant

I wanted evidence

That is also why our approach to colour and textile development has been so considered

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde can be used during textile finishing for properties such as wrinkle resistance and dimensional stability

At sufficient exposure it can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory system, and formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen

Exposure and dose matter

But my position as a founder is simple

If something is going to sit against your body for hours, I want to question unnecessary chemical exposure rather than simply accepting it

Phthalates

Phthalates are commonly used as plasticisers to make certain materials more flexible

Some phthalates are associated with endocrine and reproductive concerns, which makes them particularly relevant to the conversations I have been having with women for years

Your endocrine system is involved in hormone signalling throughout the body

And while clothing is only one potential source of environmental exposure, the pieces we wear repeatedly deserve to be part of the conversation

This is one reason the idea of hormone safe clothing matters so much to me

Not because one garment controls your hormones

It doesn't

But because reducing avoidable exposures can form part of a much bigger approach to how we look after ourselves

PFAS

PFAS are a large family of chemicals that have been used to provide properties such as water, oil and stain resistance

Certain PFAS are extremely persistent, which is why they have attracted so much attention within environmental and human health research

For me, deliberately avoiding PFAS where possible makes sense when creating clothing intended to be worn repeatedly against the body

Heavy metals

Heavy metals were another major consideration within our requirements, including substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury

Depending on the metal, dose and route of exposure, heavy metals can affect different systems within the body

This is also an area I am familiar with through my work in environmental health

So when I began creating clothing, I wasn't prepared to separate what I knew professionally from the standards I expected personally

If I wouldn't knowingly choose unnecessary exposure for myself, I don't want to build a brand that ignores those questions for you

Chlorinated solvents

Solvents can be involved in different textile manufacturing and cleaning processes

This is also why bamboo clothing isn't always clean. 

A material can sound natural while still undergoing significant chemical processing before becoming the fabric you eventually wear

Which brings me to something I really want more women to understand

Natural doesn't automatically mean non-toxic

Neither does organic

Neither does sustainable

These words can tell you something useful

But they don't necessarily tell you the whole story of a finished garment

A piece of organic cotton underwear begins with the fibre, but I also want to know what happened afterwards

How was it dyed?

What finishes were used?

What sits against the skin?

What testing has been completed?

Our underwear development includes GOTS organic cotton requirements, including a 100% GOTS organic cotton gusset within our thong specification

Our activewear specifications similarly include GOTS organic cotton alongside requirements relating to dyes, testing and prolonged skin contact

That is the difference between simply choosing a natural sounding fabric and questioning the entire garment

Why everyday exposure matters

Your environment is made up of thousands of small decisions

Looking after your long term health isn't about finding one magical product that protects you from everything

That product doesn't exist

And plastic free clothing or non-toxic activewear should never be sold to women as if one purchase can guarantee their future health

It can't

This is about something far more realistic

Reducing unnecessary exposures where you reasonably can

Choosing better when you have the information and the option

Then getting on with living your life

Where should you start?

You do not need to throw your entire wardrobe away tomorrow

Start becoming curious about the pieces that spend the longest time directly against your skin

Underwear

Bras

Leggings

Pyjamas

Workout clothing

When something needs replacing, ask better questions

Look beyond words such as "natural", "clean" and "sustainable"

Look for credible certification and testing

Ask brands what they actually test for

Ask what the finished garment contains, not simply what fibre appears on the label

Because non-toxic underwear, organic cotton underwear and non-toxic activewear should be about more than marketing language

They should be about transparency

Why this setback has made CLOCO stronger

I could have kept what happened behind the scenes quiet

It would have been easier

The manufacturer had signed our requirements

We had documentation

We could have accepted what we were told and continued

But I would have known I hadn't independently checked

And that isn't the woman I am

It isn't the company I want to build either

CLOCO's wider mission is built around giving women the information to make informed choices without asking them to sacrifice confidence, performance or how they want to look

So yes, this has delayed us

Yes, it has been frustrating

But I would rather walk away from months of work than put my name on something I don't feel confident standing behind

We are continuing to investigate manufacturing, dyes, materials and processing methods

And if doing it properly takes longer, it takes longer

Health comes before speed

Integrity comes before an easy launch

And I think the woman buying CLOCO deserves to know that

This isn't about becoming scared of your wardrobe

The woman we're building CLOCO for isn't terrified of everything around her

She's informed

She's powerful

She cares deeply about her health, but she also cares about feeling confident in her body

She wants to train hard

She wants to look incredible

She wants lingerie that makes her feel sexy

She wants activewear she is excited to put on

And she refuses to believe caring about her health means compromising on any of that

She makes better choices where she can, then she gets on with living

Because the choices she makes today are an investment in the woman she wants to become

Strong

Healthy

Confident

And still taking massive pride in herself at 60, 70 and 80

That is the woman CLOCO is being built for

Become a CLOCO Founding Member

We're building CLOCO differently

And I want the women who believe in what we're creating to be there from the beginning

Sign up as one of our CLOCO Founding Members and you'll be the first to get access when we launch

You'll be part of this journey while we're still building it, testing it and refusing to settle for something that isn't good enough

Because CLOCO isn't being created simply to put another pair of leggings into the world

We're building the clothing we couldn't find ourselves

Non-toxic by intention, powerful by design

BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER FOR FIRST ACCESS TO CLOCO