Part I of this study explores whether clothing today contains
formaldehyde levels likely to cause contact
allergy in
formaldehyde-allergic patients. Part II of this study examines whether current reactions to textiles may be due to
allergy to textile resins and whether individuals with
formaldehyde-related textile
allergy will react to the newer low
formaldehyde resins used in the textile industry. Part I: free
formaldehyde was measured in 16 fabric specimens produced in the US and overseas. Additionally, since the textile industry has moved to the use of newer methods for measuring fabric
formaldehyde content, the newer methodology was compared with the older methods used in the medical literature. Part II: 10 subjects with known textile contact
allergy were patch tested to available Chemotechnique textile resins and 6 new low-
formaldehyde resins used by the textile industry. Part I: 8 fabric specimens yielded no detectable
formaldehyde and 7 specimens yielded <200 ppm free
formaldehyde, using
Schiff's reagent and Merck testing methods. 1 specimen showed approximately 2000 ppm
formaldehyde, as measured by the Merck test, but only 24 ppm free
formaldehyde when retested by the method described in Japanese Law #112. Part II: all subjects reacted strongly to
formaldehyde and
DMDHEU (the predominant resin currently used in textiles). 6 subjects reacted to EUMF. 2 subjects had mild reactions to the newer low-
formaldehyde resins and 1 to the non-
formaldehyde Fixapret NF. Our results suggest that most clothing today yields free
formaldehyde levels unlikely to cause contact
allergy in
formaldehyde-allergic individuals. Japanese method #112 is the recommended methodology to measure free
formaldehyde in future studies.
DMDHEU may now represent the main cause of textile
allergy and may be a better screen than EUMF for this problem. Newer resins yielding fabrics with <75 ppm free
formaldehyde may cause occasional reactions, but are more likely to be tolerated by individuals with textile contact
allergy. Treatment of these individuals should be directed at identification of reliable sources of garments utilizing these newer resins.