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Environmental Impact of Laundered Shop Towels

Some pollutants are discharged into the public wastewater system during the laundering process.
Some pollutants are emitted into the air during the laundering process.
Attorney General’s Office of Connecticut Press Release.
"U.S. EPA fines industrial laundry company nearly half-million dollars for hazardous waste violations."
One Sellars Brand Shop Cloth Rag absorbs up to 400% more than one standard 13¨x13¨ laundered shop towel.
The absorbency, strength, and size of the laundered shop towel can diminish the more it is laundered.
The size of the shop towel can diminish to 12¨x12¨ the more it is laundered.
Most laundered shop towels are not made with recycled fibers.

How "Clean" Are Your Laundered Shop Towels?

The Gradient Corporation did a study in 2003 titled, “Evaluation of Potential Exposure To Metals In Laundered Shop Towels.” They found that “clean” rental shop towels frequently contain:

LEAD
CADMIUM
IRON
ANTIMONY
OIL
GREASE

In the same study, the Gradient Corporation found that someone using laundered shop towels could accidentally ingest enough lead to cause them to exceed CalEPA Proposition 651 limits (based on 2.5 towels per day)¹. The diagram below shows how metals that were not completely removed from the rental shop towel during the laundering process can be transferred from the shop towel to a person’s hands and ultimately ingested.

Oral Exposure
¹California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Proposition 65 limits are exposure limits based on potential health risks such as cancer or reproductive effects. If a chemical exposure exceeds the limit, manufacturers may be required to notify the public of this exceedance.

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