As new parents, your hearts are filled with love and care for your babies, hoping to give them the best in every aspect. Among the daily necessities like clothing, food, housing, and transportation, choosing the right fabrics for your baby's clothing is a crucial part. Faced with a dazzling array of infant and children's fabrics on the market, new parents often feel at a loss. Don't worry. The following purchase guide is a practical manual to help you easily select suitable infant and children's fabrics.
Understand the Common Types of Infant and Children's Fabrics
Cotton Fabrics
Cotton fabrics are the "main force" in infant and children's clothing. Made from natural cotton, they have numerous irresistible advantages. Firstly, cotton has a very soft texture. When it comes to contact with your baby's delicate skin, it's like a gentle breeze blowing by, hardly causing any friction discomfort and can offer the utmost gentle care to your baby. Secondly, it has excellent breathability. Air can freely flow through the fabric fibers. Even if your baby is active and prone to sweating, it can keep the skin dry all the time, effectively avoiding skin problems such as prickly heat and eczema caused by stuffiness and humidity. Moreover, cotton fabrics also have good moisture absorption, which can quickly absorb the sweat on your baby's skin, making your baby feel fresh and comfortable all the time.
Bamboo Fiber Fabrics
Bamboo fiber fabrics, as the "rising stars" that have attracted much attention in recent years, are made from natural fibers extracted from bamboo. They have a smooth and delicate feel, which is very comfortable to touch. Babies will feel extremely skin-friendly when wearing them. It's especially worth mentioning that bamboo fiber has the ability of antibacterial and anti-microbial properties. Thanks to a natural substance called "bamboo kun" contained in bamboo, it can inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria, mites and other microorganisms, creating a relatively healthy and clean wearing environment for your baby and reducing the risk of your baby getting sick due to bacterial infections. Meanwhile, bamboo fiber also performs excellently in terms of moisture absorption and breathability, and can well meet the daily wearing needs of your baby just like cotton fabrics.
Gauze Fabrics
Gauze fabrics are mostly used to make baby's pajamas, bibs, bath towels and other items. They are usually made through a multi-layer textile process, with a light and loose texture and excellent breathability. When your baby wears clothes made of gauze fabrics, it's as if being wrapped by soft clouds, hardly feeling any restraint and can move around freely. Moreover, after being washed many times, gauze fabrics will become softer and fit your baby's body better. The longer they are used, the more comfortable your baby will feel. It's a very suitable fabric for your baby's daily wearing.
Modal Fabrics
Modal is also one of the common choices for infant and children's fabrics. It is mainly made from natural wood pulp through a special spinning process. The biggest feature of modal fabrics is their softness and smoothness. They are even softer than cotton, and babies will feel extremely comfortable when wearing them. They have strong moisture absorption and can quickly absorb and dissipate moisture to keep the clothes dry. However, in terms of breathability, they are slightly inferior to cotton and bamboo fiber. Generally speaking, if you have higher requirements for the softness of clothes, modal is also a good option to consider.
Pay Attention to the Safety Indicators of Fabrics
Formaldehyde Content
Formaldehyde is definitely a major "enemy" that needs to be closely guarded against in infant and children's fabrics. Some unscrupulous merchants may illegally use formaldehyde-containing auxiliaries in order to make the fabrics wrinkle-resistant and stiff. Formaldehyde is a chemical substance that is extremely harmful to human health. Especially for babies with their fragile body systems, long-term exposure may lead to many problems such as respiratory diseases and skin allergies. Therefore, when purchasing infant and children's fabrics, you must check the formaldehyde content marked on the product label. The formaldehyde content of qualified and regular products must be strictly controlled within the safe range stipulated by national standards. For example, the formaldehyde content in infant and children's clothing should not exceed 20 milligrams per kilogram.
Fluorescent Brighteners
Fluorescent brighteners are also ingredients that need to be vigilant about. Some fabrics add fluorescent brighteners to make them look whiter and brighter. They may remain on your baby's clothes and enter your baby's body through skin contact, posing potential risks to your baby's health. High-quality infant and children's fabrics usually do not add such substances randomly. When purchasing, parents can observe the color of the fabric under natural light. If you find that the fabric is too dazzlingly white and unnatural, you should be cautious about choosing it. Or you can use an ultraviolet lamp to irradiate it. If there is an obvious fluorescent reaction, it's best to avoid buying it.
Color Fastness
Color fastness is related to whether the fabric will fade during wearing and washing. If the color fastness of infant and children's fabrics is poor and they fade seriously during washing, it will not only affect the appearance of the clothes, but more importantly, the fading dyes may adhere to your baby's skin and cause skin allergy reactions. When selecting, you can gently wipe the surface of the fabric with a white wet cloth to see if there is any color fading phenomenon, or check the grade marking of color fastness on the product specification. Generally speaking, the higher the grade, the better the color fastness. Choosing fabrics with high color fastness can make your baby wear them more safely.
Consider the Actual Wearing Experience of Fabrics
Softness
Your baby's skin is very sensitive, so the softness of the fabric is the primary consideration factor. Touch the fabric with your hands to feel whether it is smooth and soft or whether there is a rough or prickly feeling. Fabrics like cotton and modal mentioned above usually have good softness. Fabrics that don't feel good to the touch are likely to make your baby uncomfortable when wearing them or even scratch your baby's skin. It's recommended to discard them decisively.
Breathability
Babies are lively and active by nature, with a vigorous metabolism and are prone to sweating. Therefore, the breathability of the fabric is extremely important. You can put the fabric close to your mouth and gently blow air to feel whether the air can flow smoothly through the fabric. If you can clearly feel the air flow passing through, it indicates that the fabric has good breathability. Or you can check the material introduction of the fabric. Generally speaking, fabrics like cotton, bamboo fiber and gauze all have good performance in terms of breathability and can keep your baby's skin dry and comfortable during the wearing process.
Dimensional Stability
Babies grow up quickly and their clothes need to be washed frequently. This requires the fabric to have good dimensional stability, that is, it is not easy to deform or shrink after washing. When purchasing, you can ask the merchant about the size change of the fabric after washing, or check the feedback from other consumers. Try to choose fabrics that can still maintain their original shape and size after being washed many times. This can ensure that your baby's clothes can be worn multiple times and are more practical.
Check the Relevant Labels and Certifications of the Product
Product Labels
Regular infant and children's fabric products will have detailed product labels, which clearly mark important information such as the fabric composition, content, washing instructions, implementation standards and manufacturers. Parents must carefully read the label content when purchasing. By understanding the fabric composition, you can judge whether its characteristics meet your baby's needs. Meanwhile, follow the washing instructions to wash the clothes correctly to ensure the service life and safety of the fabric.
Safety Certifications
Pay attention to whether the product has relevant safety certification marks, such as the certification mark of the national safety technical specification for infant and children's clothing. These marks indicate that the product has undergone strict quality inspection and meets the corresponding standard requirements in terms of fabric safety. Products with these certifications can make parents feel more at ease when purchasing and are more guaranteed for babies to use.
In conclusion, as long as new parents keep this guide in mind and carefully consider multiple aspects such as fabric types, safety, wearing experience and relevant label certifications when purchasing infant and children's fabrics, they will surely be able to select infant and children's fabrics that are both comfortable and safe, adding a guarantee for your baby's healthy growth and allowing your baby to spend every day happily in warmth and comfort.